bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Does the crowdfunding platform matter? Risks of negative attitudes in two-sided markets
Authors: Lacan Camille , Desmet Pierre
Published: August 2017

Purpose

Crowdfunding offers a popular means to raise donations online from many contributors. Open calls for contributions involve another actor too, namely, the internet platform that maintains the two-sided market. This paper aims to examine the effect of this intermediary on contributors’ willingness to participate in crowdfunding projects.

Design/methodology/approach

An online survey measures the relative effect of contributors’ attitudes towards the crowdfunding platform on two key behaviours: willingness to share word-of-mouth and willingness to participate in a project.

Findings

Using the theoretical framework of a two-sided market, the empirical study reveals that attitudes towards a crowdfunding platform moderate contributors’ willingness to participate due to several risk factors that affect the platform’s perceived usefulness and ease of use. These factors have negative influences on attitude towards the platform, which reduces support for the project. The effects are stronger for willingness to participate than for word-of-mouth intentions.

Research limitations/implications

Declarative measures and a focus on the utilitarian dimensions of contributor participation limit the external validity of the findings.

Practical implications

With the results of this study, internet platforms can find ways to improve the attitudes of potential contributors. Project creators can use the findings to adapt their communication campaigns and reduce inhibitions that keep contributors from using platforms.

Originality/value

This study advances marketing and crowdfunding literature by highlighting the potential dark side of a platform that functions as an intermediary in a two-sided market.
Global products marketing strategy of two European MNCs in Vietnam
Authors: Wafler Beat Hans , Badir Yuosre F.
Published: August 2017

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to analyze how two multinational companies (MNCs) faced the challenge of market uncertainty and political instability in a newly emerging market, and how it affected the impact of their product marketing strategy (PMS) and product (brand) performance.

Design/methodology/approach

A comparative longitudinal paired case study of a market entry by two global MNCs. Twelve global brands (products) were studied, which were locally manufactured and launched by the two MNCs during their first ten years of operation in Vietnam.

Findings

The authors approached the investigation from a conventional point of view: standardization versus adaptation. The results showed that in addition to these two traditional processes, a third one was also operating, which the authors labeled semi-adaptation, or the midway PMS. Semi-adaptation refers to a product that has been introduced to Vietnam from a neighboring country.

Research limitations/implications

This research is based on two European MNCs active in the food and consumer-household goods industry in a newly emerging market: Vietnam.

Practical implications

This primary data indicate that the product standardization, semi-adaptation and adaptation process in practice is a technique applied to fit a product to a newly emerging market more by degree of change than by product category.

Originality/value

This paper supports a recent stream of research, which views Standardization or Adaptation as the two ends of the same continuum, where the degree of the firm’s PMS can range between them.
Experimental investigation on SFRC behaviour under elevated temperature
Authors: Goremikins Vadims , Blesak Lukas , Novak Josef , Wald Frantisek
Published: August 2017

Purpose

This work aims to present an experimental study of steel fibre-reinforced concrete (SFRC) subjected to high temperature, especially focusing on residual behaviour.

Design/methodology/approach

Compressive strength and split tensile strength of SFRC cubes and ultimate bending strength of prisms were evaluated under ambient and elevated temperatures. The specimens were heated by ceramic heaters and then repacked for testing.

Findings

The results showed that a compressive strength of SFRC is reduced by 38 and 66 per cent, tensile strength is reduced by 25 and 59 per cent and ultimate bending force is reduced by 33 and 56 per cent in case of 400°C and 600°C, respectively, comparing with ambient temperature.

Originality value

The developed testing procedure could be used for determination of material properties of SFRC under elevated temperatures.
Planning for Brexit: the Case of the 1975 Referendum
Authors: Evans Adam
Published: August 2017

Both during and since the 2016 referendum on the UK's membership of the European Union, concerns were raised as to the absence of contingency planning within Whitehall. This situation was in direct contrast with 1975, when extensive planning took place for the possibility of a vote to leave the European Community. However, there has been little in the way of detailed analysis of the contingency planning undertaken in 1975. Using archival evidence of the Wilson government's preparations, this article highlights the complex challenge that withdrawal would have posed for the UK in 1975, the tensions that existed between the political imperative for a swift withdrawal, in the event of a leave vote, and the civil service's concerns as to whether such a withdrawal was deliverable. Finally, it shows how dependent the UK's position would have been on the approach taken by the other members of the EC.
Trauma, innocence and the core complex of dissociation
Authors: Kalsched Donald E.
Published: August 2017

Trauma survivors often lament that they have lost their innocence or lost their souls and that something vulnerable and whole about themselves has been ‘broken’ or annihilated. Yet when the psychotherapeutic relationship begins, and symbolic material from dreams and the transference emerges, discernible patterns become apparent, indicating that a core of innocence and vitality has not been totally lost or annihilated. On the contrary, it has been ‘saved’ by dissociation and its system of inner objects and their protective and/or persecutory narrative ‘scripts’ or ‘schemas’. The dissociative system splits off a wounded, orphaned ‘child’ in the psyche and clinging to this ‘child’ is a penumbra of innocence that apparently must be preserved at all costs. Unfortunately the costs of preservation are high because such encapsulated innocence becomes malignant, and the inner world turns perverse and destructive. Only when the wounded, orphaned, and innocent part of the personality is allowed to suffer experience again – this time with the promise of a new outcome – can true healing of trauma occur. How to facilitate this authentic suffering in the face of powerful resistances thrown up by the ‘system’, will be the focus of this paper.
The latency complex: the dead hand of anti‐development
Authors: Proner Barry D.
Published: August 2017

It is common knowledge that the same phenomena can be viewed in a variety of ways. This paper considers the implications of a constellation observed in some adult patients who have increasingly reminded the author of some of the children of latency age with whom he has also worked. In the literature these patients may also have been thought about in terms of ‘defences of the self’ (Fordham), patients who are ‘difficult to reach’ (Joseph), ‘psychic retreats’ (Steiner), and those who make ‘attacks on linking’ (Bion). They may equally be considered in terms of schizoid, narcissistic or borderline personalities, or as showing features on the autistic spectrum, such as mindlessness and extreme obsessionality.

Writers such as Helene Deutsch with her concept of an ‘as‐if personality’, Winnicott with his ‘false self’, and Rosenfeld, discussing the split‐off parts of the personality in narcissistic patients, have also offered much to think about in their consideration of some of these phenomena. This paper proposes yet another vertex – the author's own imaginative conjecture – that is by no means mutually exclusive of any of these others.
Prevalence and risk factors of hand eczema in hospital‐based nurses in northern China
Authors: Zhang Dan , Zhang Jin , Sun Shuling , Gao Ming , Tong Ailing
Published: August 2017

Background/Objectives

This study aimed to evaluate the prevalence of hand eczema among nurses in northern China and to analyse associated risk factors.

Methods

A retrospective self‐reported questionnaire was designed and distributed to 1322 nurses who were selected from three regional hospitals. Risk factors related to hand eczema in nurses were analysed using multivariable logistic regression.

Results

Hand eczema was present in 183/934 respondents (20%) and was not significantly associated with gender or workplace (P > 0.05). Factors such as the use of moisturiser (odds ratio [OR] 0.6; 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.3–1.0) and not wearing impervious gloves (OR 0.5; 95% CI 0.3–0.7) were associated with lower odds of developing hand eczema. A personal (OR 5.7; 95% CI 3.9–8.2) and family history (OR 2.3; 95% CI 1.5–3.5) of atopy, washing hands more than 20 times per day (OR 1.6; 95% CI 1.1–2.4), and more years working as a nurse (OR 1.1; 95% CI 1.0–1.1) were associated with higher odds of developing hand eczema.

Conclusions

A personal and familial history of atopy, the prolonged use of impervious gloves, washing hands more than 20 times per day and more years in work as a nurse are all risk factors for increased hand eczema in nurses.
Contribution of maternal age, medical and obstetric history to maternal and perinatal morbidity/mortality for women aged 35 or older
Authors: Morris Jonathan M. , Totterdell James , Bin Yu Sun , Ford Jane B. , Roberts Christine L.
Published: August 2017

Background

As age is not modifiable, pregnancy risk information based on age alone is unhelpful for older women.

Aim

To determine severe morbidity/mortality rates for women aged ≥35 years according to maternal profile based on parity, pre‐existing medical conditions and prior pregnancy complications, and to assess the independent contribution of age.

Materials and methods

Population‐based record‐linkage study using NSW hospitalisation and birth records 2006–2012. Maternal and perinatal mortality/morbidity were assessed for non‐anomalous singleton births to women aged ≥35 years.

Results

For 117 357 pregnancies among 99 375 women aged ≥35 years, the median age at delivery was 37 years (range 35–56 years), including: 35 652 (30.4%) multiparae without pre‐existing medical or obstetric complications, 33,058 (28.2%) nulliparae without pre‐existing medical conditions and 30 325 (25.8%) multiparae with prior pregnancy complications. Maternal and perinatal mortality/morbidity varied by maternal profile with ranges of 0.9–3.5% and 2.4–11.9%, respectively. For nulliparae, each five‐year increase in age did not contribute significantly to maternal risk after controlling for medical conditions (adjustedodds ratio 1.08, 95% CI 0.93–1.25), but did confer perinatal risk (1.14; 1.05–1.25). For multiparae, each five‐year increase in age beyond 35 years was independently associated with adverse maternal (1.23; 1.09–1.39) and perinatal outcomes (1.23; 1.09–1.39).

Conclusions

For women aged ≥35 years, presence of medical conditions conferred a greater risk for morbidity/mortality than age itself. For multiparous women, the effects of medical and obstetric history were additive. The contribution of maternal age to adverse outcomes in pregnancies without significant medical and obstetric history is modest.
Letter: role of tenofovir to prevent mother‐to‐child transmission of hepatitis B virus
Authors: Zhang C.‐Y. , Ahir B.‐K. , Wu G‐B. , Zhong J.‐H. , Li L.‐Q.
Published: August 2017

Linked Content

This article is linked to Hyun and Lee papers. To view these articles visit https://doi.org/10.1111/apt.14068 and https://doi.org/10.1111/apt.14211.
Editorial: lean and obese NAFLD—similar siblings
Authors: Mellor T. E. , Torres D. M.
Published: August 2017

Linked Content

This article is linked to Mellor and Torres paper. To view this article visit https://doi.org/10.1111/apt.14112.
Editorial: replacing standard proton pump inhibitors with vonoprazan may breathe new life into triple therapy for Helicobacter pylori
Authors: Fraser A. G.
Published: August 2017

Linked Content

This article is linked to Jung and Bardhan papers. To view these articles visit https://doi.org/10.1111/apt.14206 and https://doi.org/10.1111/apt.14130.
Editorial: selective serotonin receptor inhibitors and gastrointestinal bleeding—managing the risk
Authors: Vakil Nimish
Published: August 2017

Linked Content

This article is linked to Lauren paper. To view this article visit https://doi.org/10.1111/apt.14153.
Letter: role of tenofovir to prevent mother‐to‐child transmission of hepatitis B virus—authors’ reply
Authors: Lee Y.‐S. , Hyun M. H. , Kim J. H. , Yeon J. E. , Byun K. S.
Published: August 2017

Linked Content

This article is linked to Zhang et al and Hyun and Lee papers. To view these articles visit https://doi.org/10.1111/apt.14189 and https://doi.org/10.1111/apt.14068.
Letter: a potassium‐competitive acid blocker vs a proton pump inhibitor for healing endoscopic submucosal dissection‐induced artificial ulcers after treatment of gastric neoplasms—authors’ reply
Authors: Kagawa T. , Iwamuro M. , Inaba T.
Published: August 2017

Linked Content

This article is linked to Ban et al and Ugimoto and Kagawa papers. To view these articles visit https://doi.org/10.1111/apt.14202 and https://doi.org/10.1111/apt.13747.
Editorial: how effective is vedolizumab in the ‘real world’?
Authors: Speight R. A. , Mansfield J. C.
Published: August 2017

Linked Content

This article is linked to Amiot et al and Gagniere and Serrero papers. To view this article visit https://doi.org/10.1111/apt.14167.
Editorial: oesophageal dilation in eosinophilic oesophagitis—can and should, but when and how?
Authors: Kia L. , Hirano I.
Published: August 2017

Linked Content

This article is linked to Moaward et al and Molina‐Infante and Lucento papers. To view these articles visit https://doi.org/10.1111/apt.14233 and https://doi.org/10.1111/apt.14123.
Editorial: progress towards a simple tool for screening for hepatic steatosis in the general population
Authors: Gallacher J. , McPherson S.
Published: August 2017

Linked Content

This article is linked to Yip et al and Maj and Wong papers. To view these articles visit https://doi.org/10.1111/apt.14172 and https://doi.org/10.1111/apt.14234.
Effects of increased vertebral number on carcass weight in PIC pigs
Authors: Huang Jieping , Zhang Mingming , Ye Runqing , Ma Yun , Lei Chuzhao
Published: August 2017

Variation of the vertebral number is associated with carcass traits in pigs. However, results from different populations do not match well with others, especially for carcass weight. Therefore, effects of increased vertebral number on carcass weight were investigated by analyzing the relationship between two loci multi‐vertebra causal loci (NR6A1 g.748 C > T and VRTN g.20311_20312ins291) and carcass weight in PIC pigs. Results from the association study between vertebral number and carcass weight showed that increased thoracic number had negative effects on carcass weight, but the results were not statistically significant. Further, VRTN Ins/Ins genotype increased more than one thoracic than that of Wt/Wt genotype on average in this PIC population. Meanwhile, there was a significant negative effect of VRTN Ins on carcass weight (P < 0.05). Thus, our results suggested negative effect of increased thoracic number on carcass weight in PIC pigs.
Dietary methionine source and level affect hepatic sulfur amino acid metabolism of broiler breeder hens
Authors: Wan Jianmei , Ding Xuemei , Wang Jianping , Bai Shiping , Peng Huanwei , Luo Yuheng , Su Zhuowei , Xuan Yue , Zhang Keying
Published: August 2017

A study was carried out to investigate the effects of dietary methionine source and level on plasma free amino acids patterns and the expression of genes involved in hepatic methionine metabolism in broiler breeders. A total of 2184 broiler breeders were assigned to 13 dietary treatments, with eight replicates per treatment. The 13 treatments included one control group and 12 additional treatments employing two sources and six levels (0.05, 0.10, 0.15, 0.20, 0.25 and 1.00%). Higher plasma methionine concentration was measured for DL‐methionine (DLM) treated hens. Plasma alanine concentration was linearly increased as DLM or 2‐hydroxy‐4‐(methylthio) butanoic acid (HMTBA) supplementation level increased. There was a linear increase in concentrations of tyrosine, valine, glycine and serine as dietary DLM supplementation level increased. Hens treated with DLM had higher relative expression of ADA than those fed HMTBA. The expression of MS, ADA, SAHH and MAT2A changed quadratically as HMTBA supplementation level increased, while the expression of GNMT and SAHH changed quadratically as DLM supplementation level increased. In conclusion, the effects of HMTBA on plasma free amino acid patterns and the expression of hepatic genes involved with methionine are different from DLM.
On the Shores of Politics: Popular Republicanism and the Magdalena River in Candelario Obeso's Cantos populares de mi tierra
Authors: O'BRYEN RORY
Published: August 2017

This article explores discourses surrounding the modernisation of the state and the formation of national literature in nineteenth‐century Colombia, examining the racism at the heart of both, particularly in their representation of Afro‐Colombian inhabitants of the lower Magdalena River. Then, drawing on recent accounts of plebeian politicisation, and in a reading of selected poems from Candelario Obeso's Cantos populares de mi tierra (1877), it argues that beyond functioning as the medium through which criollos interpellated subalterns as alienated subjects, republican ideology also served as the grounds upon which Afro‐Colombians contested exclusion and negotiated forms of political inclusion.
From Innovation to Impact at Scale: Lessons Learned From a Cluster of Research–Community Partnerships
Authors: Schindler Holly S. , Fisher Philip A. , Shonkoff Jack P.
Published: August 2017

This article presents a description of how an interdisciplinary network of academic researchers, community‐based programs, parents, and state agencies have joined together to design, test, and scale a suite of innovative intervention strategies rooted in new knowledge about the biology of adversity. Through a process of cocreation, collective pilot testing, and the support of a measurement and evaluation hub, the Washington Innovation Cluster is using rapid cycle iterative learning to elucidate differential impacts of interventions designed to build child and caregiver capacities and address the developmental consequences of socioeconomic disadvantage. Key characteristics of the Innovation Cluster model are described and an example is presented of a video‐coaching intervention that has been implemented, adapted, and evaluated through this distinctive collaborative process.
The Influence of Adult and Peer Role Models on Children’ and Adolescents’ Sharing Decisions
Authors: Ruggeri Azzurra , Luan Shenghua , Keller Monika , Gummerum Michaela
Published: August 2017

This study explores how the age (adult vs. peer) and the suggestion (to be fair vs. unfair) of models affect the sharing decisions of 9‐ and 12‐year‐olds (N = 365) from Italy and Singapore. Results demonstrate a developmental shift in the influence of models on children's and adolescents’ sharing decisions in both cultures: Children's decisions were more affected by an adult model's suggestion than by that of a peer model, whereas the opposite was true for adolescents. Regardless of the models’ influence, participants considered equal sharing to be the fair choice and reported being happier when their sharing decisions were generous. Our results highlight the crucial importance of social and developmental factors for the promotion of fairness judgments and emotions.
The relationship between restless legs syndrome and bronchial asthma
Authors: Güngen Adil Can , Güngen Belma , Aydemir Yusuf , Aras Yeşim Guzey , Çoban Hikmet , Düzenli Hasan
Published: August 2017

Introduction

Restless legs syndrome (RLS) is associated with sleep disorders. However, although sleep disturbance is prevalent in people with asthma, an insufficient number of studies have investigated the relationship between asthma and RLS.

Objectives

We aimed to determine the extent of the presence of RLS, and the factors related to RLS, in people with asthma.

Methods

A total of 84 people with asthma and 51 healthy volunteers were enrolled. The diagnosis of RLS was made according to the criteria determined by the International Restless Legs Syndrome Study Group, and the Beck Depression and Beck Anxiety scales were used to assess both groups. The Asthma Control Test™(ACT) was carried out to determine asthma control status.

Results

RLS was detected in 27 (32.1%) of the asthma group and in 8 (15.7%) of the control group. The frequency of RLS was significantly higher in the asthma group than in the control group (P = .034). Although no significant relationship was observed between the presence of RLS and the use of an inhaled steroid, use of a β2 agonist and age; a significant relationship was found between the presence of RLS and, ACT score, symptoms of depression and anxiety and gender (P < .05).

Conclusions

RLS was more frequent in people with asthma than in healthy individuals, and as asthma control decreased, frequency of RLS increased. It was concluded that it would be useful to evaluate people with asthma, particularly those with symptoms of depression and anxiety, with regard to RLS in order to address, and ultimately improve, their quality of life.
CRISPR/Cas‐mediated gene editing using purified protein in Drosophila suzukii
Authors: Kalajdzic Predrag , Schetelig Marc F.
Published: August 2017

The spotted wing drosophila, Drosophila suzukii (Matsumura) (Diptera: Drosophilidae), is an invasive pest of stone fruits and berries currently without effective control management. The sterile insect technique (SIT) is an environmentally friendly and effective pest control method that releases sterile males to mate with wild females resulting in the suppression or eradication of targeted pest populations. New molecular technologies and genome editing methods are paving the way to bring this technology to invasive species like D. suzukii. The CRISPR/Cas technology is emerging as a versatile option for efficient tailored gene manipulation. Components of this system, the guide RNA (gRNA) and Cas9 protein, can be delivered into the organism in the form of DNA, RNA, or protein. We report CRISPR/Cas‐mediated site‐specific white gene editing using purified Cas9 protein delivered directly into D. suzukii embryos. Mutant flies with 13, 3, and 1 nt deletions within the cutting site of the Cas9 protein were retrieved. Moreover, the two independent G1 deletion events (13 and 3 nt) derived from the same G0 female. Our results show that the recombinant Cas9 protein could be a method of choice for generating heritable gene modifications in D. suzukii.
Assessment of the involvement of the macrophage migration inhibitory factor–glucocorticoid regulatory dyad in the expression of matrix metalloproteinase‐2 during periodontitis
Authors: Hirschfeld Josefine , Howait Mohammed , Movila Alexandru , Parčina Marijo , Bekeredjian‐Ding Isabelle , Deschner James , Jepsen Søren , Kawai Toshihisa
Published: August 2017

Macrophage migration inhibitory factor (MIF) is a proinflammatory cytokine and counter‐regulator of endogenous glucocorticoids (GCs). It is implicated in acute and chronic inflammatory diseases. This study investigated the role of the MIF–GC regulatory dyad in the expression and release of matrix metalloproteinase‐2 (MMP‐2) during periodontitis, in vivo and in vitro. In a Mif‐knockout (KO) mouse model of ligature‐induced periodontitis, gingival tissues and blood were collected and analysed for levels of interleukin‐6 (IL‐6), MIF, MMP‐2, and corticosterone. In addition, human gingival fibroblasts (HGFs) were tested for production of IL‐6 and MMP‐2 after stimulation with hydrocortisone (HC), MIF, tumour necrosis factor‐alpha (TNF‐α), or Fusobacterium nucleatum, a pathogen known to elicit immune responses during periodontitis. Wild‐type (WT) mice showed a local and systemic increase of MIF levels during inflammation, which was confirmed by increased local IL‐6 concentrations. Systemic GC levels were reduced in WT and Mif‐KO mice during inflammation, with overall lower concentrations in Mif‐KO mice. In vivo and in vitro, MMP‐2 production was not dependent on MIF or inflammatory stimuli, but was inhibited by HC. Therefore, MIF does not appear to stimulate expression of MMP‐2 in the gingival tissues, whereas GC upregulates MIF and downregulates MMP‐2. Our findings further suggest that MIF may regulate systemic GC levels.
Effects of 5 years of digestate application on biomass production and quality of cocksfoot (Dactylis glomerata L.)
Authors: Tilvikienė V. , Šlepetienė A. , Kadžiulienė Ž.
Published: August 2017

Anaerobic digestion of biomass produces biogas for combustion and also provides a residual digestate. Although sometimes regarded as a waste product, the nutrient‐rich chemical composition of digestate makes it a potential organic fertilizer for agriculture. The goal of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of digestate as a fertilizer on the biomass yield and chemical composition of cocksfoot (Dactylis glomerata L.). In a 5‐year small‐plot field experiment digestate fertilization treatments supplying 90, 180, 270, 360 and 450 kg N ha−1 were compared with untreated plots and plots fertilized with 180 kg N ha−1 of mineral N fertilizer. Swards fertilized with digestate produced higher biomass yield compared with the control. The same rate of nitrogen fertilizer (180 kg N ha−1) supplied as digestate and from mineral fertilizers gave similar results on biomass yield. Herbage in swards fertilized with digestate contained less nitrogen, but the C:N ratio was much more suitable for biogas production. Digestate fertilization resulted in higher concentrations of cellulose and hemicellulose in biomass and lower contents of the inhibitors of anaerobic digestion—sulphur, calcium, magnesium and phosphorus—compared with those of swards receiving mineral fertilizers.
Association of subclinical carotid atherosclerosis with immediate memory and other cognitive functions
Authors: Matsumoto Lumine , Suzuki Kazushi , Mizuno Yoshiko , Ohike Yumiko , Ozeki Atsuko , Ono Satoshi , Takanashi Mikio , Sawaki Daigo , Suzuki Toru , Yamazaki Tsutomu , Tsuji Shoji , Iwata Atsushi
Published: August 2017

Aim

To clarify whether carotid atherosclerosis and its risk factors are associated with cognitive decline.

Methods

We evaluated 206 individuals who visited our center for health screening. We carried out physical examinations, blood tests, intima‐media thickness (IMT) measurement by carotid ultrasonography, brain magnetic resonance imaging scanning and cognitive function assessments. A total of 30 individuals, who had significant cerebrovascular lesions detected in magnetic resonance imaging scans, were excluded. To detect early cognitive decline, we defined “cognitive impairment (CI)” when a patient satisfied at least one of three criteria. These were Mini‐Mental State Examination score <24, clock‐drawing test score <4 coexisting with forgetfulness and Wechsler Memory Scale‐revised delayed recall score below the normal range for the duration of education (>16 years of education: ≥9, 10–15 years: ≥5, 0–9 years: ≥3).

Results

Among 176 individuals, 27 were placed in the CI group. IMT was significantly higher in the CI group as compared with the non‐CI group (mean ± SD: 2.0 ± 1.0 vs 1.7 ± 0.7, P = 0018 by Student's t‐test). Other atherosclerotic risk factors, such as blood pressure, low‐density lipoprotein cholesterol, and hemoglobin A1c, were not significantly different between the two groups. In multivariate analysis, maximum IMT was associated with impaired immediate recall score on Wechsler Memory Scale‐revised, independent of the presence of deep white matter hyperintensities on the magnetic resonance imaging scan.

Conclusions

Subclinical carotid atherosclerosis, defined as thickened IMT, could be a marker for early stages of CI, especially for immediate memory recall. The impairment is presumably caused by inducing cerebral microvascular dysfunction in the frontal lobe. Geriatr Gerontol Int 2018; 18: 65–71.
Characterization of Sarcocystis fayeri's actin‐depolymerizing factor as a toxin that causes diarrhea
Authors: Irikura Daisuke , Saito Morihiro , Sugita‐Konishi Yoshiko , Ohnishi Takahiro , Sugiyama Kei‐ichi , Watanabe Maiko , Yamazaki Akiko , Izumiyama Shinji , Sato Hirotaka , Kimura Yusuke , Doi Rie , Kamata Yoichi
Published: August 2017

Raw horsemeat has the potential to induce food poisoning which often presents with diarrheal symptoms. A sample of horsemeat was found to be infected with Sarcocystis fayeri, and a 15‐kDa protein isolated from the cysts of S. fayeri was found to clearly show its diarrhea‐inducing activity. A nested polymerase chain reaction was used to clone the cDNA of the 15‐kDa protein. The deduced amino acid sequence showed homology to actin‐depolymerizing factor (ADF). A recombinant 15‐kDa protein depolymerized prepolymerized actins in a test tube. The 15‐kDa protein possessed conserved amino acid sequences of ADF of Toxoplasma gondii and Eimeria tenella. These characteristics indicate that the 15‐kDa protein of S. fayeri belongs to the ADF/cofilin protein family. The recombinant 15‐kDa protein evoked fluid accumulation in the looped ileum, resulting in diarrhea, but it did not kill the cultured fibroblast cells, macrophages or intestinal mucosal cells. In addition, the culture supernatant of the macrophages treated with the recombinant 15‐kDa protein killed the fibroblast L929 cells. This fact indicates that ADF of S. fayeri induced cytotoxic substances, such as tumor necrosis factor‐α, according to the published reports. Although further experiments are needed now to elucidate the enterotoxic mechanism of S. fayeri's ADF, our findings may offer new insight into research on parasites and parasite‐instigated food poisoning.
Towards North‐South Interconnectedness: a Critique of Gender Dualities in Sustainable Development, the Environment and Women's Health
Authors: Simon‐Kumar Rachel , MacBride‐Stewart Sara , Baker Susan , Saxena Lopamudra Patnaik
Published: August 2017

Well‐established bodies of scholarship that inform contemporary global debates on gender, environment and health are fundamentally based on dualistic representations of women, such as First/Third World, rich/poor and victim/polluter. In this paper, we argue that recent socioeconomic transitions — affluence in the global South and rising inequality in the global North — demand the development of gender analytical frameworks that better recognize the diversity of roles that women play in the changing global social order that impact on their health. Our paper (a) critiques the dualisms found in three influential bodies of scholarship, namely gender, environment and development, science, technology and society, and sustainable development; and (b) through our critique, conceptually develops an ‘interconnectedness’ perspective that focuses on the increasingly shared lived realities of women in the North and the South, to understand the emerging complex relationships between gender, environment and health.
Effect of BiNbO4 doping on the dielectric properties of BaTiO3 ceramics
Authors: Wei Meng , Zhang Jihua , Wu Kaituo , Chen Hongwei , Yang Chuanren
Published: August 2017

In this paper, the effect of BiNbO4 doping on the structural characteristics and dielectric properties were investigated systematically. With the increase in the BiNbO4 content, a systematic structural characteristics change from ferroelectric tetragonal to cubic phase. Dielectric properties changed from classical ferroelectric behavior to dispersive relaxor‐like behavior, further to linear behavior. Because of the created defect dipoles, the long‐range dipolar interaction was interrupted and the weak couplings were formed. Energy storage density reached the maximum of 0.797 J/cm3 with energy efficiency of 92.5% in 0.9BT‐0.1BN. The nonlinearity was suppressed obviously, which could enhance the energy storage density in lead‐free relaxor materials.
Predicting expatriate effectiveness: The role of personality, cross‐cultural adjustment, and organizational support
Authors: Salgado Jesús F. , Bastida María
Published: August 2017

The interest in expatriate effectiveness has grown remarkably as a consequence of globalization and the possibility of failure in international assignments. This study has tested a comprehensive model of expatriate effectiveness in a sample of 108 Spanish expatriate managers. They responded to a survey which included a set of variables, including personality, adjustment, language skill, cultural distance, organizational support, and expatriate effectiveness (i.e., job performance, intentions of early return, and manager efficacy perceived by others). The results showed that cultural distance and cross‐cultural adjustment were the immediate predictors of expatriate effectiveness and that achievement, sociability, organizational support, and language skills predicted cross‐cultural adjustment and cultural distance. The results showed a good fit to the hypothesized model (GFI = .973; CFI =.975; RMSEA = .056; SRMR = .053). Finally, we comment on the implications of the findings for the research and practice of selection in international assignments.
“Without the spelling errors I would have shortlisted her…”: The impact of spelling errors on recruiters’ choice during the personnel selection process
Authors: Martin‐Lacroux Christelle
Published: August 2017

Despite the time spent on writing at work and employers’ dissatisfaction with their employees’ spelling skills, little is known about recruiters’ attribution, and decision making when they read application forms with spelling errors. This study examines the impact of spelling and typographic errors on recruiters’ attributions about applicants, and on their shortlisting decision. Based on a sample of 20 French recruiters, we conducted an experiment to collect both qualitative data through the verbal protocol method and quantitative data. Specific verbal reports are associated with different types of errors. Recruiters also form attributions about candidates. We demonstrate that spelling errors affect recruiters’ behavior more negatively than typographic ones. We discuss the implications of these findings for researchers and practitioners.
Lower levels of interleukin‐1β gene expression are associated with impaired Langerhans’ cell migration in aged human skin
Authors: Pilkington Suzanne M. , Ogden Stephanie , Eaton Laura H. , Dearman Rebecca J. , Kimber Ian , Griffiths Christopher E. M.
Published: August 2017

Langerhans’ cells (LC) play pivotal roles in skin immune responses, linking innate and adaptive immunity. In aged skin there are fewer LC and migration is impaired compared with young skin. These changes may contribute to declining skin immunity in the elderly, including increased skin infections and skin cancer. Interleukin‐1β (IL‐1β) and tumour necrosis factor‐α (TNF‐α) are mandatory signals for LC migration and previous studies suggest that IL‐1β signalling may be dysregulated in aged skin. Therefore, we sought to explore the mechanisms underlying these phenomena. In skin biopsies of photoprotected young (< 30 years) and aged (> 70 years) human skin ex vivo, we assessed the impact of trauma, and mandatory LC mobilizing signals on LC migration and gene expression. Biopsy‐related trauma induced LC migration from young epidermis, whereas in aged skin, migration was greatly reduced. Interleukin‐1β treatment restored LC migration in aged epidermis whereas TNF‐α was without effect. In uncultured, aged skin IL‐1β gene expression was lower compared with young skin; following culture, IL‐1βmRNA remained lower in aged skin under control and TNF‐α conditions but was elevated after culture with IL‐1β. Interleukin‐1 receptor type 2 (IL1R2) gene expression was significantly increased in aged, but not young skin, after cytokine treatment. Keratinocyte‐derived factors secreted from young and aged primary cells did not restore or inhibit LC migration from aged and young epidermis, respectively. These data suggest that in aged skin, IL‐1β signalling is diminished due to altered expression of IL1B and decoy receptor gene IL1R2.
Structure and microwave dielectric properties of the Li2/3(1−x)Sn1/3(1−x)MgxO systems (x = 0‐4/7)
Authors: Fang Zixuan , Tang Bin , Yuan Ying , Zhang Xing , Zhang Shuren
Published: August 2017

In this paper, the Li2/3(1−x)Sn1/3(1−x)MgxO (LSMxO) ceramic systems were prepared by solid‐state reaction using novel atmosphere‐controlled sintering (x = 0‐4/7). Pure Li2SnO3 was observed for x = 0, the Li2Mg3SnO6 and Li2SnO3 coexisted for x = 1/7, and the coexistence of three kinds of phases was detected for x = 1/5 and 1/4, including Li4MgSn2O7 impurity phase. Pure Li2Mg3SnO6‐like phase with cubic rock salt structure in Fm‐3m space group was obtained in the range of 1/3‐4/7. All samples showed well‐dense and smooth microstructures. The microwave dielectric properties highly depended on the phase composition, bond valence, FWHM of Raman spectrum, Raman shift, average grain sizes, and octahedral distortion. The LSMxO ceramics sintered at 1250°C for 5 hours possessed excellent comprehensive properties of εr = 15.43, Q×f = 80 902 GHz and τf = +5.61 ppm/°C for x = 1/7. Typically, the LSMxO ceramics sintered at 1350°C for 5 hours showed a maximum Q × f of 168 330 GHz for x = 1/2.
Substratum karstificability, dispersal and genetic structure in a strictly subterranean beetle
Authors: Rizzo Valeria , Sánchez‐Fernández David , Alonso Rocío , Pastor Josep , Ribera Ignacio
Published: August 2017

Aim

The deep subterranean environment is an ideal system to test the effect of physical constraints on the ecology and evolution of species, as it is very homogeneous and with simple communities. We studied the effect of substratum karstificability in the dispersal of the strictly subterranean Troglocharinus ferreri (Reitter) (Coleoptera, Leiodidae) by comparing the genetic diversity and structure of populations in limestone (more soluble) and dolostone (less soluble) in the same karstic system.

Location

Troglocharinus ferreri is only known from c. 100 vertical shafts in an area of <500 km2 SW of Barcelona (Spain).

Methods

We sequenced mitochondrial and nuclear markers of a representative sample to identify main lineages within T. ferreri and estimate their temporal origin, and used mitochondrial data of 129 specimens from 41 caves to reconstruct their demographic history and estimate dispersal among caves.

Results

Troglocharinus ferreri diverged from its sister in the Early Pliocene, with an initial divergence of the sampled populations in the Early Pleistocene. The best demographic model was a constant population size with a fast population increase in the middle Pleistocene. The ancestral population was likely in limestone, with a probability of transition from limestone to dolostone triple to that from dolostone to limestone, suggesting a higher permeability of limestone to the transit of individuals. Populations in dolostone caves had lower gene flow between them and a stronger isolation by distance, although the low genetic variability for the studied markers and the lower abundance of dolostone caves decreased the statistical power of the analyses.

Main conclusions

Our results point to the physical characteristic of the substratum as a determinant of dispersal and gene flow, potentially conditioning the long‐term evolution of subterranean biodiversity.
Recognizing value of educational collaboration between high schools and universities facilitated by modern ICT
Authors: Zieliński K. , Czekierda Ł. , Malawski F. , Straś R. , Zieliński S.
Published: August 2017

In this paper, we address the problem of an educational gap existing between high schools and universities: many students consider their choice of field of study as inappropriate, mostly due to insufficient information regarding the discipline and the university educational process. To solve this problem, we define an innovative, information and communication technology‐supported educational process enabling various ways of collaboration between high schools and universities. The goal of that process is to increase the knowledge of prospective students regarding the next level of their education. We propose an environment for the implementation of the educational process. The concepts have been verified in practise as part of the Małopolska Educational Cloud project across several disciplines. We discuss the achievements of the pilot phase of the project as well as its reception by educators and students. Based on evaluation reports and opinions from both educators and students, we claim that the proposed model for information and communication technology‐supported collaboration between high schools and universities can effectively reduce the educational gap.
An analysis of collaborative problem‐solving activities mediated by individual‐based and collaborative computer simulations
Authors: Chang C.‐J. , Chang M.‐H. , Liu C.‐C. , Chiu B.‐C. , Fan Chiang S.‐H. , Wen C.‐T. , Hwang F.‐K. , Chao P.‐Y. , Chen Y.‐L. , Chai C.‐S.
Published: August 2017

Researchers have indicated that the collaborative problem‐solving space afforded by the collaborative systems significantly impact the problem‐solving process. However, recent investigations into collaborative simulations, which allow a group of students to jointly manipulate a problem in a shared problem space, have yielded divergent results regarding their effects on collaborative learning. Hence, this study analysed how students solved a physics problem using individual‐based and collaborative simulations to understand their effects on science learning. Multiple data sources including group discourse, problem‐solving activities, learning test scores, and questionnaire feedback were analysed. Lag sequential analysis on the data found that students using the two simulations collaborated with peers to solve the problem in significantly different patterns. The students using the collaborative simulations demonstrated active engagement in the collaborative activity; however, they did not transform discussions into workable problem‐solving activities. The students using the individual‐based simulation showed a lower level of collaboration engagement, starting with individual exploration of the problem with the simulation, followed by group reflection. The two groups also showed significant differences in their learning test scores. The findings and pedagogical suggestions are discussed in the hope of addressing critical activity design issues in using computer simulations for facilitating collaborative learning.
The Systematic Tool to Reduce Inappropriate Prescribing (STRIP): Combining implicit and explicit prescribing tools to improve appropriate prescribing
Authors: Drenth‐van Maanen A. Clara , Leendertse Anne J. , Jansen Paul A. F. , Knol Wilma , Keijsers Carolina J. P. W. , Meulendijk Michiel C. , van Marum Rob J.
Published: August 2017

Inappropriate prescribing is a major health care issue, especially regarding older patients on polypharmacy. Multiple implicit and explicit prescribing tools have been developed to improve prescribing, but these have hardly ever been used in combination. The Systematic Tool to Reduce Inappropriate Prescribing (STRIP) combines implicit prescribing tools with the explicit Screening Tool to Alert physicians to the Right Treatment and Screening Tool of Older People's potentially inappropriate Prescriptions criteria and has shared decision‐making with the patient as a critical step. This article describes the STRIP and its ability to identify potentially inappropriate prescribing.

The STRIP improved general practitioners' and final‐year medical students' medication review skills. The Web‐application STRIP Assistant was developed to enable health care providers to use the STRIP in daily practice and will be incorporated in clinical decision support systems. It is currently being used in the European Optimizing thERapy to prevent Avoidable hospital admissions in the Multimorbid elderly (OPERAM) project, a multicentre randomized controlled trial involving patients aged 75 years and older using multiple medications for multiple medical conditions.

In conclusion, the STRIP helps health care providers to systematically identify potentially inappropriate prescriptions and medication‐related problems and to change the patient's medication regimen in accordance with the patient's needs and wishes. This article describes the STRIP and the available evidence so far. The OPERAM study is investigating the effect of STRIP use on clinical and economic outcomes.
Pain and dualism: Which dualism?
Authors: Arnaudo Elisa
Published: August 2017

In the literature, the allegation to pursue approaches grounded on Cartesian dualism in medicine is widespread. In this paper, I argue that dualism informing biomedicine has not only to do with a Cartesian view of mind and body, but that multiple dualisms are at play in biomedical approach to disease, especially regarding complex pain conditions. A form of epistemological dualism entailing the primacy of the physician's model of knowledge on the patient's direct experience of suffering is pointed out as the source of the inadequate medical attitude towards pain, particularly in relation to its complex forms such as fibromyalgic syndrome. The analysis, in particular, pays attention to the way in which dualism underlies and reinforces the delegitimization of chronic pain patients and suggests that solutions have to be found in the material organization of the health care service.
Variation in stable‐isotope ratios between fin and muscle tissues can alter assessment of resource use in tropical river fishes
Authors: Hayden B. , Tongnunui S. , Beamish F. W. H. , Nithirojpakdee P. , Cunjak R. A.
Published: August 2017

Carbon and nitrogen stable‐isotope ratios were compared of fin and muscle tissue from 15 fish species collected
from seven headwater rivers in eastern and western Thailand. In addition, two‐source stable‐isotope mixing models were used to derive estimates of each fish's reliance on allochthonous and autochthonous energy based on fin and muscle tissues. Across the dataset, fish fin was enriched in 13C relative to muscle by c. 1·5‰. Variation in δ15N between tissues was below statistically significant levels. Estimates of autochthonous resource use calculated from fin tissue were on average 15% greater than those calculated from muscle. Linear mixed‐effects models indicated that inter‐tissue variation in estimates of resource use was predominantly related to inter‐tissue variation in δ13C. Fish fin is a credible and desirable alternative to tissues such as muscle or liver which require destructive sampling of fishes. Care must be taken, however, when estimating resource use or interpreting previous estimates of resource use derived from different tissues.