bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Predict future learning accuracy by the structural properties of the brain, anin vivolongitudinal MRI study in songbirds
Authors: Hamaide J. , Lukacova K. , Verhoye M. , Van der Linden A.
Published: November 2018

Human speech and bird song are acoustically complex communication signals that are learned by imitation during a sensitive period early in life. Although the neural networks indispensable for song learning are well established, it remains unclear which neural circuitries differentiate good from bad song copiers. By combiningin vivostructural Magnetic Resonance Imaging with song analyses in juvenile male zebra finches during song learning and beyond, we discovered that song imitation accuracy correlates with the structural architecture of four distinct brain areas, none of which pertain to the song control system. Furthermore, the structural properties of a secondary auditory area in the left hemisphere, are capable to predict future song copying accuracy, already at the earliest stages of learning, before initiating vocal practicing. These findings appoint novel brain regions important for song learning outcome and inform that ultimate performance in part depends on factors experienced before vocal practicing.
Detailed analysis of chick optic fissure closure reveals Netrin-1 as an essential and conserved mediator of epithelial fusion during vertebrate embryogenesis
Authors: Hardy H , Prendergast J , Patel A , Dutta S , Trejo-Reveles V , Kroeger H , Yung A , Goodrich L , Brooks BP , Sowden J , Rainger J
Published: November 2018

Epithelial fusion underlies many vital organogenic processes during embryogenesis. Disruptions to these cause a significant number of human birth defects, including ocular coloboma. We provide robust spatial-temporal staging and unique anatomical detail of optic fissure closure (OFC) in the embryonic chick, including strong evidence for roles of apoptosis and epithelial remodelling. We performed complementary transcriptomic profiling and show thatNetrin-1 (NTN1) is precisely expressed in the chick fissure margin at the fusion plate but is immediately downregulated after fusion. We further provide a combination of protein localisation and phenotypic evidence in chick, humans, mice and fish that Netrin-1 has an evolutionarily conserved and essential requirement for OFC, and is likely to have a major role in palate fusion. Our data reveal thatNTN1is a new locus for human coloboma and other multi-system developmental fusion defects, and that chick OFC is a powerful model for epithelial fusion research.
Lack of selectivity for syntax relative to word meanings throughout the language network
Authors: Fedorenko Evelina , Blank Idan , Siegelman Matthew , Mineroff Zachary
Published: November 2018

To understand what you are reading now, your mind retrieves the meanings of words and constructions from a linguistic knowledge store (lexico-semantic processing) and identifies the relationships among them to construct a complex meaning (syntactic or combinatorial processing). Do these two sets of processes rely on distinct, specialized mechanisms or, rather, share a common pool of resources? Linguistic theorizing, empirical evidence from language acquisition and processing, and computational modeling have jointly painted a picture whereby lexico-semantic and syntactic processing are deeply inter-connected and perhaps not separable. In contrast, many current proposals of the neural architecture of language continue to endorse a view whereby certain brain regions selectively support syntactic/combinatorial processing, although the locus of such “syntactic hub”, and its nature, vary across proposals. Here, we searched for selectivity for syntactic over lexico-semantic processing using a powerful individual-subjects fMRI approach across three sentence comprehension paradigms that have been used in prior work to argue for such selectivity: responses to lexico-semanticvs.morpho-syntactic violations (Experiment 1); recovery from neural suppression across pairs of sentences differing in only lexical itemsvs.only syntactic structure (Experiment 2); and same/different meaning judgments on such sentence pairs (Experiment 3). Across experiments, both lexico-semantic and syntactic conditions elicited robust responses throughout the left fronto-temporal language network. Critically, however, no regions were more strongly engaged by syntactic than lexico-semantic processing, although some regions showed the opposite pattern. Thus, contra many current proposals of the neural architecture of language, syntactic/combinatorial processing is not separable from lexico-semantic processing at the level of brain regions—or even voxel subsets—within the language network, in line with strong integration between these two processes that has been consistently observed in behavioral and computational language research. The results further suggest that the language network may be generally more strongly concerned with meaning than syntactic form, in line with the primary function of language—to share meanings across minds.
Hidden patterns of codon usage bias across kingdoms
Authors: Deng Yun , de Lima Hedayioglu Fabio , Kalfon Jeremie , Chu Dominique , von der Haar Tobias
Published: November 2018

The genetic code is necessarily degenerate with 64 possible nucleotide triplets being translated into 20 amino acids. 18 out of the 20 amino acids are encoded by multiple synonymous codons. While synonymous codons are clearly equivalent in terms of the information they carry, it is now well established that they are used in a biased fashion. There is currently no consensus as to the origin of this bias. Drawing on ideas from stochastic thermodynamics we derive from first principles a mathematical model describing the statistics of codon usage bias. We show that the model accurately describes the distribution of codon usage bias of genomes in the fungal and bacterial kingdoms. Based on it, we derive a new computational measure of codon usage bias — the distancecapturing two aspects of codon usage bias: (i) Differences in the genome-wide frequency of codons and (ii) apparent non-random distributions of codons across mRNAs. By means of large scale computational analysis of over 900 species across 2 kingdoms of life, we demonstrate that our measure provides novel biological insights. Specifically, we show that while codon usage bias is clearly based on heritable traits and closely related species show similar degrees of bias, there is considerable variation in the magnitude ofwithin taxonomic classes suggesting that the contribution of sequence-level selection to codon bias varies substantially within relatively confined taxonomic groups. Interestingly, commonly used model organisms are near the median for values offor their taxonomic class, suggesting that they may not be good representative models for species with more extreme, which comprise organisms of medical an agricultural interest. We also demonstrate that amino acid specific patterns of codon usage are themselves quite variable between branches of the tree of life, and that some of this variability correlates with organismal tRNA content.
Transcriptome landscape of the developing olive fruit fly embryo delineated by Oxford Nanopore long-read RNA-Seq
Authors: Bayega Anthony , Oikonomopoulos Spyros , Zorbas Eleftherios , Wang Yu Chang , Gregoriou Maria-Eleni , Tsoumani Konstantina T , Mathiopoulos Kostas D , Ragoussis Jiannis
Published: November 2018

The olive fruit fly or olive fly (Bactrocera oleae) is the most important pest of cultivated olive trees. Like all insects the olive fly undergoes complete metamorphosis. However, the transcription dynamics that occur during early embryonic development have not been explored, while detailed transcriptomic analysis in the absence of a fully annotated genome is challenging. We collected olive fly embryos at hourly intervals for the first 6 hours of development and performed full-length cDNA-Seq using a purpose designed SMARTer cDNA synthesis protocol followed by sequencing on the MinION (Oxford Nanopore Technologies). We generated 31 million total reads across the timepoints (median yield 4.2 million per timepoint). The reads showed 98 % alignment rate to the olive fly genome and 91 % alignment rate to the NBCI predicted B. oleae gene models. Over 50 % of the expressed genes had at least one read covering its entire length validating our full-length RNA-Seq procedure. Expression of 68 % of the predicted B. oleae genes was detected in the first six hours of development. We generated a de novo transcriptome assembly of the olive fly and identified 3553 novel genes and a total of 79,810 transcripts; a fourfold increase in transcriptome diversity compared to the NCBI predicted transcriptome. On a global scale, the first six hours of embryo development were characterized by dramatic transcriptome changes with the total number of transcripts per embryo dropping to half from the first hour to the second hour of embryo development. Clustering of genes based on temporal co-expression followed by gene-set enrichment analysiss of genes expressed in the first six hours of embryo development showed that genes involved in transcription and translation, macro-molecule biosynthesis, and neurodevelopment were highly enriched. These data provide the first insight into the transcriptome landscape of the developing olive fly embryo. The data also reveal transcript signatures of sex development. Overall, full-length sequencing of the cDNA molecules permitted a detailed characterization of the isoform complexity and the transcriptional dynamics of the first embryonic stages of the B. oleae.
Landscape of RNA editing reveals new insights into the dynamic gene regulation of spermatogenesis based on integrated RNA-Seq
Authors: Wang Xiaodan , Zhu Zhenshuo , Wu Xiaolong , Li Hao , Li Tongtong , Li Qun , Zhang Peng , Li Leijie , Che Dongxue , Xiao Xia , Hua Jinlian , Liao Mingzhi
Published: November 2018

Spermatogenesis is an important physiological process associated with male infertility. But whether there are RNA editings (REs) and what’s the role of REs during the process are still unclear. In this study, we integrated published RNA-Seq datasets and established a landscape of REs during the development of mouse spermatogenesis. 7530 editing sites among all types of male germ cells were found, which enrich on some regions of chromosome, including chromosome 17 and both ends of chromosome Y. Totally, REs occur in 2012 genes during spermatogenesis, more than half of which harbor at two different sites of the same gene at least. We also found REs mainly occur in introns, coding regions (CDSs) and intergenic regions. Moreover, about half of the REs in CDSs can cause amino acids changes. Finally, based on our adult male Kunming mice, we verified that there is a non-synonymous A-to-I RNA editing site inCog3during spermatogenesis, which is conserved not only between species but also across tissues. In short, based on the power of integrating RNA-Seq datasets, we provided the landscape of REs and found their dynamic changes during mouse spermatogenesis. This research strategy is general for other types of sequencing datasets and biological problems.
Entropic forces drive cellular contact guidance
Authors: Buskermolen A.B.C. , Suresh H. , Shishvan S.S. , Vigliotti A. , DeSimone A. , Kurniawan N.A. , Bouten C.V.C. , Deshpande V.S.
Published: November 2018

Contact guidance—the widely-known phenomenon of cell alignment induced by anisotropic environmental features—is an essential step in the organization of adherent cells, but the mechanisms by which cells achieve this orientational ordering remain unclear. Here we seeded myofibroblasts on substrates micropatterned with stripes of fibronectin and observed that contact guidance emerges at stripe widths much greater than the cell size. To understand the origins of this surprising observation, we combined morphometric analysis of cells and their subcellular components with a novel statistical framework for modelling non-thermal fluctuations of living cells. This modelling framework is shown to predict not only the trends but also the statistical variability of a wide range of biological observables including cell (and nucleus) shapes, sizes and orientations, as well as stress-fibre arrangements within the cells with remarkable fidelity. By comparing observations and theory, we identified two regimes of contact guidance: (i) guidance on stripe widths smaller than the cell size (w ≤ 160 μm), which is accompanied by biochemical changes within the cells, including increasing stress-fibre polarisation and cell elongation, and (ii) entropic guidance on larger stripe widths, which is governed by fluctuations in the cell morphology. Overall, our findings suggest an entropy-mediated mechanism for contact guidance associated with the tendency of cells to maximise their morphological entropy through shape fluctuations.
Structures of TOG1 and TOG2 From the Human Microtubule Dynamics Regulator CLASP1
Authors: Leano Jonathan B. , Slep Kevin C.
Published: November 2018

Tubulin-binding TOG domains are found arrayed in a number of proteins that regulate microtubule dynamics. While much is known about the structure and function of TOG domains in the XMAP215 microtubule polymerase family, less in known about the TOG domain array found in the CLASP family. The CLASP TOG array promotes microtubule pause, potentiates rescue, and limits catastrophe. How distinct the TOG domains of CLASP are from one another, from XMAP215 TOG domains, and whether they are positionally conserved across CLASP family members is poorly understood. We present the x-ray crystal structures of human CLASP1 TOG1 and TOG2. The structures of CLASP1 TOG1 and TOG2 are distinct from each other, from CLASP TOG3, and are positionally conserved across species. While studies have failed to detect CLASP TOG1 tubulin-binding activity, TOG1 is structurally similar to the free-tubulin binding TOG domains of XMAP215. In contrast, though CLASP TOG2 and TOG3 have tubulin binding activity, they are structurally distinct from the free-tubulin binding TOG domains of XMAP215. CLASP TOG2 has a convex architecture, predicted to engage a hyper-curved tubulin state. CLASP TOG3 has unique structural elements in the C-terminal half of its α-solenoid domain that modeling studies implicate in binding to laterally-associated tubulin subunits in the microtubule lattice in a mode similar to, yet distinct from XMAP215 TOG4. These findings highlight the structural diversity of TOG domains within the CLASP TOG array and provide a molecular foundation for understanding CLASP-dependent effects on microtubule dynamics.
Phosphorylation by the stress-activated MAPK Slt2 down-regulates the yeast TOR complex 2
Authors: Leskoske Kristin L. , Roelants Françoise M. , Emmerstorfer-Augustin Anita , Augustin Christoph M. , Si Edward P. , Hill Jennifer M. , Thorner Jeremy
Published: November 2018

Saccharomyces cerevisiae target of rapamycin (TOR) complex 2 (TORC2) is an essential regulator of plasma membrane lipid and protein homeostasis. How TORC2 activity is modulated in response to changes in the status of the cell envelope is unclear. Here we document that TORC2 subunit Avo2 is a direct target of Slt2, the mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) of the cell wall integrity pathway. Activation of Slt2 by overexpression of a constitutively active allele of an upstream Slt2 activator (Pkc1) or by auxin-induced degradation of a negative Slt2 regulator (Sln1) caused hyperphosphorylation of Avo2 at its MAPK phosphoacceptor sites in a Slt2-dependent manner and diminished TORC2-mediated phosphorylation of its major downstream effector, protein kinase Ypk1. Deletion of Avo2 or expression of a phosphomimetic Avo2 allele rendered cells sensitive to two stresses (myriocin treatment and elevated exogenous acetic acid) that the cell requires Ypk1 activation by TORC2 to survive. Thus, Avo2 is necessary for optimal TORC2 activity, and Slt2-mediated phosphorylation of Avo2 down-regulates TORC2 signaling. Compared with wild-type Avo2, phosphomimetic Avo2 shows significant displacement from the plasma membrane, suggesting that Slt2 inhibits TORC2 by promoting Avo2 dissociation. Our findings are the first demonstration that TORC2 function is regulated by MAPK-mediated phosphorylation.
The influence of managers’ social networking information on job applicants
Authors: Ballweg Christopher A. , Ross William H. , Secchi Davide , Uting Chad
Published: November 2018

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the prevalence and influence of social network website (SNW) content about alcohol use and abuse on job applicant reactions to their prospective immediate supervisor and toward applying for the job.

Design/methodology/approach

In Study 1, raters coded photographs and photo captions found on 1,048 personal SNWs of US managers or business owners. Approximately 22 percent of managers’ personal SNWs contained references to alcohol, providing a base rate large enough to warrant further research. In Study 2, laboratory experiment participants saw a fictitious company’s website including a professional managerial profile. A 3 × 3 factorial design then varied whether the prospective manager’s comments on his personal SNW emphasized professional activities, social drinking, or alcohol abuse; also, the manager’s friends’ comments emphasized work activities, social drinking, or alcohol abuse. A control group did not see a personal SNW.

Findings

Alcohol abuse information on personal SNWs – whether posted by the manager or by the manager’s friends – negatively affected attitudes toward the manager. Alcohol abuse information posted by the manager (but not by the manager’s friends) decreased the willingness of participants to apply for the position. These findings were consistent with the Brunswick Lens Model and the warranting hypothesis.

Originality/value

This is the first study to investigate managerial SNW content and it effects upon prospective job seekers’ attitudes.
Self-efficacy’s role in success of quality training programmes
Authors: Loomba Arvinder P.S. , Karsten Rex
Published: November 2018

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to explore why some firms succeed while others flounder or fail to implement quality improvement programmes. It synthesises self-efficacy literature to propose a model of self-efficacy’s role in affecting implementation success of quality improvement programmes in organisations.

Design/methodology/approach

A review of scholarly articles on the topics of self-efficacy and quality initiatives brings to light self-efficacy’s role in successful quality programme implementation. When considered in the context of organisation barriers, it can lead to organisational success.

Findings

It is determined that quality training programmes play an important role in affecting existing efficacies and leading to “quality self-efficacy” in employees. The proposed model and related propositions suggest that right approaches of implementing quality training among certain types of employees and/or organisations can promote teamwork to achieve performance success.

Research limitations/implications

Moving forward, the proposed model should be empirically tested to improve our understanding of quality self-efficacy construct and its role in aiding organisational success. Furthermore, it would offer guidelines for the implementation of quality programmes in the most optimal way.

Practical implications

In applying theories on self-efficacy, motivation, empowerment, and quality training, the authors posit that existing efficacy and quality self-efficacy are crucial for quality implementation efforts to overcome organisational barriers and lead to effective teamwork and performance success.

Social implications

The authors postulate that deciding factors for organisational success originate from employees themselves as existing efficacies. Even though employees can foster quality self-efficacy through the implementation of quality improvement initiatives, existing self-efficacy, and organisation barriers will be moderating forces on eventual effectiveness of quality self-efficacy, teamwork, and organisational performance.

Originality/value

The model and related propositions, linking self- and collective efficacies to quality training, teamwork, and quality performance, offered in this paper will prove useful for organisational decision-makers in selecting quality programmes for implementation in organisation to achieve performance success.
Objective institutionalized barriers and subjective performance factors of new migrant entrepreneurs
Authors: Hagos Sirak , Izak Michal , Scott Jonathan M.
Published: November 2018

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to explain how the “objective” institutionalized barriers (of which social, human and financial capital are decisive factors) and the subjective performance of new migrant entrepreneurs jointly affect their business attitudes and observed behavior.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper’s analysis of individualized performance factors (dependent on how “objective” institutionalized barriers are subjectively construed) – in line with the theory of planned behavior – enables a response to recent calls to embrace complexity and pluralism in entrepreneurship through applying social constructivist lenses. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 32 Eritrean entrepreneurs, and the empirical data were subjected to grounded theory analytical procedures and interpretative phenomenological analysis theoretical coding.

Findings

Six core beliefs mitigated entrepreneurial attitudes independently from the objectivized institutionalized barriers: know-how needs to be acquired formally; available sources of financing are internal, and scarce; market expertise is in the books, rather than in the market; blending in the host country’s culture is uncalled for, and the resulting difficulty of operating in the “foreign” market is a price worth paying; risk is to be avoided at all cost; and strong intra-communal bonds need not entail support for their business activity, rendering external contacts hardly necessary or trustworthy.

Originality/value

The paper concludes with recommendations potentially informing policies and targeted interventions by highlighting that any policy intervention or an attempt at structural change of conditions in which new migrant entrepreneurship unfolds should consider entrepreneurs as “performing” individuals, as well as representatives of wider cultural, economic and social dynamics relating to these “objective” institutionalized barriers.
Foreign aid, workers’ remittances and economic growth in Jordan
Authors: Husein Jamal G.
Published: November 2018

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the long-run impact of foreign aid and workers’ remittances on Jordanian economic growth using time series data for the period 1970–2014. Following the most recent literature, the author also assess whether economic policy enhances economic growth and whether aid effectiveness is conditional on levels of economic policy.

Design/methodology/approach

The author employs unit root tests that allow for endogenously determined structural breaks (Perron, 1997) and properly utilize the autoregressive distributed lag (ARDL) or bounds testing approach to cointegration by applying both theF- and thet-test statistics (Pesaranet al., 2001). The analysis is applied to 12 different models that incorporates the various types and sources of foreign aid.

Findings

Empirical results suggest that aid and its various components, and workers’ remittances have had a positive and significant long-run impact on economic growth. Empirical results also show: no evidence supporting the hypothesis that aid is only or more effective in spurring economic growth during periods of “good” macroeconomic policy, i.e., when Jordan has undertaken World Bank Structural Adjustment Programs (SAPs); no robust evidence supporting the World Bank’s claim thatSAPs are growth enhancing. Moreover, the author found strong empirical evidence suggesting that exports and human capital are also major determinants of long-run growth in Jordan.

Research limitations/implications

Although Jordan and the region at large have experienced periods of major political instability that may have had a varying impact on the economy, lack of a reliable and lengthy time series measure that accounts for political instability is not available to include in the study.

Practical implications

Using cointegration analysis, our empirical evidence reveals that foreign aid, labor remittances, exports and human capital have had a robust positive long-run impact on economic growth. Hence, the Jordanian government should promote policies that encourage donor countries and agencies to further extend aid to Jordan. Moreover, policies that promote exports and facilitate labor mobility to neighboring countries should also be encouraged and promoted.

Originality/value

Despite receiving a significant amount of foreign aid and labor remittances in the last 50 years, the author found no time series study that tested the long-run impact of these external financing sources on growth in Jordan. This study fills that gap and extends the analysis to test whether macroeconomic policy is growth enhancing and whether aid (and several of its components) are only effective or more effective in promoting growth during periods of “good” macroeconomic policy, i.e., when Jordan has undertaken a World BankSAP.
Nanotribological characteristics of laser surface melted Stellite 12+Mo hardfacing
Authors: Dilawary Shaikh Asad Ali , Motallebzadeh Amir , Afzal Muhammad , Atar Erdem , Cimenoglu Huseyin
Published: November 2018

Purpose

The purpose of the study is to examine the sliding wear performance of plasma transfer arc (PTA) deposited and laser surface melted (LSM) Mo modified Stellite 12 hardfacings under high contact stresses (i.e. >20 GPa).

Design/methodology/approach

For this purpose, after structural characterization, sliding wear tests have been conducted using sphero-conical diamond indenter as the counterface with different normal loads. The wear tracks formed on the hardfacings were examined by atomic force microscopy and scanning electron microscopy.

Findings

Both hardfacings showed severe wear (at high contact stress levels ranging from 24 to 41 GPa), which progressed by plastic deformation, although the wear resistance of LSMed hardfacings was better than the PTA hardfacings by a factor of two due to its near surface microstructure characterized as carbide-rich zone.

Originality/value

Sliding wear characterization of a promising 10 Wt.% Mo modified version of commercial Stellite 12 hardfacings (as reported previously by authors) was done in as PTA and LSMed states using nanomechanical test system. To the best of authors’ knowledge, no report is available in the open literature on such hardfacings under these testing conditions.
Technology-based business incubators
Authors: Miranda Maria Gabriela , Borges Renata
Published: November 2018

Purpose

Technology-based incubators depend on high-level knowledge to constantly meet the demands of the market. Incubators offer a variety of specialized services to help startups increase the chances of crossing the valley of death. These services include infrastructure, access to a professional network of mentors and an intensive support of a consultant team to help with managerial and legal challenges. Therefore, it is critical to incubators to develop both highly skilled teams of consultants and social environment that facilitates communication. The purpose of this paper is to understand how innovation-oriented social networks created within technology-based incubators are shaped.

Design/methodology/approach

Data were collected in five incubators participating connected to federal universities from the state of Minas Gerais. The network attributes collected in the survey were placed in a matrix form. The mapping and measurement of the relationships between individuals were developed using the Ucinet software. Ucinet enables the analysis of attributes (attitudes, behaviors and characteristics) characterized as relational (contacts, ties and relationships). The software also includes the Netdraw network visualization tool, which enables the creation of matrices and graphical network maps. The measurements of centrality, closeness and intermediation were analyzed to assess the intra-organizational social network.

Findings

The results indicate that although the flow of communication does not follow the formal hierarchy, the interaction between team members to spontaneously exchange ideas, information and experiences is rare. The workers are so concerned about their timely tasks, that they have few opportunities to exchange information and knowledge. The coordination is carried out by university professors, who also perform other tasks (e.g. teaching, research and administration activities) besides those related to the incubators. The results also suggest that in the technology-based incubators studied, besides dealing in an innovative environment, the distribution of tasks and responsibilities are still rigid and traditional.

Originality/value

By analyzing the degree of the relationship between team members, the proximity and the level of intermediation of co-workers, it is possible to see how the incubators workers interact, thereby identifying the flow of information. This study offers implications for theory and practice. To the theory, this study adds to the discussion of intra-organizational social network of technology-based companies in the Brazilian context. To practitioners, this research sheds light on the importance of the social network built within the organization to promote effective communication and knowledge sharing.
Encouraging the subsistence artisan entrepreneurship in handicraft and creative contexts
Authors: Ferreira Jéssica , Sousa Bruno Miguel , Gonçalves Francisco
Published: November 2018

Purpose

This study aims to establish a relationship between creative tourism and experiences in the traditional handicrafts of Barcelos (Portugal). Based on a qualitative approach, it also aims at analyzing the failures and absences from the tourist market by creating new proposals and responses to the demand. The conceptual framework of this study develops three proposals: first, to present new concepts and opportunities for the tourism market; second, to establish a direct relationship between the local traditional handicrafts, creative tourism and experiences; and finally, to promote traditions that add value to the local development.

Design/methodology/approach

This study uses an ethnographic case analysis research design to investigate the propositions (ten in-depth interviews with technicians and artisans in Barcelos, Portugal). The key constructs are drawn from empirical research among handicraftsmen in which data analysis was carried out based on a qualitative analysis.

Findings

The results suggest the experience, knowledge and importance of learning this dynamic in an entrepreneurship tourism perspective. Creative tourism and experiences are growing and strengthening the territories and consumer satisfaction in specific artisan, cultural and tourism entrepreneurship contexts.

Research limitations/implications

This study fills a large gap in the territorial market, associating the knowledge of new concepts with the success of the tourism entrepreneurship. The findings provide solutions for helping handicraftsmen to improve their decision-making logic and increase the speed of market growth. There has been an increased emphasis on local and handmade goods that are linked to the culture and tourism of specific destinations.

Originality/value

Tourism managers and artisan entrepreneurs can use the outcome of this study to gain in-depth understanding of customer experiences (i.e. consumers of local handicrafts) and develop effective marketing strategies and further stage the operational environment that can maximize customers’ perceived experiential value.
Systems social marketing: a critical appraisal
Authors: Truong V. Dao , Saunders Stephen Graham , Dong X. Dam
Published: November 2018

Purpose

Social marketing has gained widespread recognition as a means of motivating behaviour change in individuals for societal good. Many opinions have been shared regarding its potential to affect society or systems-wide change, leading to the macro-or systems social marketing (SSM) concepts and ideas. This paper aims to critically appraise the SSM literature, identify key features and highlight gaps for future research.

Design/methodology/approach

A search was conducted of peer-reviewed SSM articles published from 2000 to March 2018 inclusive. A number of online databases were mined, including but not limited to Google, Google Scholar, Scopus, PubMed, Cochrane and Medline. Key social marketing outlets (Social Marketing Quarterly and Journal of Social Marketing) were browsed manually. In total, 28 SSM articles were identified.

Findings

SSM adopts a dynamic systems thinking approach; it is an orientation, not a theory or model; it is multi-method; and it recognises that intervention can occur on multiple levels. Yet, greater attention should be given to the complexities of the systems context and the power structures and relations that exist between stakeholders. Significant issues also include stakeholder voice and participation, the use and reporting of theories and models, the measurement of long-term intervention outcomes and the undesirable impacts of SSM.

Originality/value

This paper identifies issues that need to be addressed if social marketing is to become a more system-oriented means to positively influence societal change. Implications for theoretical and practical development of the social marketing field are provided.
Corporate social responsibility information disclosure objective or not
Authors: Duan Zhao , He Yajuan , Zhong Yuan
Published: November 2018

Purpose

Based on the text mining tools, this paper aims to propose a new method to evaluate the subjectivity and objectivity of corporate social responsibility information disclosure.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors build up a text subjectivity evaluation model of corporate social responsibility reports through meta-analysis; a text mining is conducted to all sample CSR reports released by Chinese listed companies untill March 2016[1]. Furthermore, the authors made an overall and quantitative analysis of the situation which contained changing state, characteristics and abnormal value on the subjectivity and objectivity of information disclosure.

Findings

The results show that the subjectivity scores of social responsibility reports of Chinese listed companies are generally in a normal distribution. The diagram turns out to be a rising trend over the years and increases linearly from 2011 to 2013. Also, the industry heterogeneity and policy control are the main reasons for the formation of the differences, which are significant between different industries and different years.

Originality/value

This paper provides not only an important empirical basis for the research of corporate social responsibility but also a new idea for the non-financial information disclosure as well as objective evaluation of normative text.
Gastrointestinal bleeding with severe mucosal involvement in a patient with generalized pustular psoriasis without IL36RN mutation
Authors: Komatsuda Shiori , Kamata Masahiro , Chijiwa Chika , Namiki Kaoru , Fukaya Saki , Hayashi Kotaro , Fukuyasu Atsuko , Tanaka Takamitsu , Ishikawa Takeko , Ohnishi Takamitsu , Abe Koichiro , Yamamoto Takatsugu , Aozasa Naohiko , Sugiura Kazumitsu , Tada Yayoi
Published: November 2018

Generalized pustular psoriasis (GPP) is a systemic inflammatory disease that presents with erythema and sterile pustules, pathologically characterized by Kogoj's spongiform pustules. GPP is sometimes accompanied by mucosal involvement, and the most common lesion is on the tongue. IL36RN mutation was found to contribute to the pathogenesis of GPP especially in patients who develop GPP without a past medical history of psoriasis vulgaris. The association of IL36RN mutation with mucosal involvement in GPP is controversial. We herein report a 60‐year‐old male GPP patient with no past history of plaque psoriasis presenting with not only severe skin lesions and arthritis but also severe mucosal involvements of pharyngeal and gastrointestinal lesions, which led to gastrointestinal bleeding. Our case did not have any mutation in the IL36RN gene. We should be aware that severe GPP can cause gastrointestinal bleeding. The relevancy of IL36RN mutation with mucosal involvement in GPP remains to be elucidated.
Pelagiphages in the Podoviridae family integrate into host genomes
Authors: Zhao Yanlin , Qin Fang , Zhang Rui , Giovannoni Stephen J. , Zhang Zefeng , Sun Jing , Du Sen , Rensing Christopher
Published: November 2018

The Pelagibacterales order (SAR11) in Alphaproteobacteria dominates marine surface bacterioplankton communities, where it plays a key role in carbon and nutrient cycling. SAR11 phages, known as pelagiphages, are among the most abundant phages in the ocean. Four pelagiphages that infect Pelagibacter HTCC1062 have been reported. Here, we report 11 new pelagiphages in the Podoviridae family. Comparative genomics classified these pelagiphages into the HTVC019Pvirus genus, which includes the previously reported pelagiphages HTVC011P and HTVC019P. Phylogenomic analysis clustered HTVC019Pvirus pelagiphages into three subgroups. Integrases were identified in all but one HTVC019Pvirus genome. Site‐specific integration of HTVC019Pvirus pelagiphages into host tRNA genes was verified experimentally, demonstrating the capacity of these pelagiphages to propagate by both lytic and lysogenic infection. Evidence of pelagiphage integration was also retrieved from the Global Ocean Survey database, showing that prophages are found in natural SAR11 populations. HTVC019Pvirus pelagiphages could impact SAR11 populations by a variety of mechanisms, including mortality, genetic transduction and prophage‐induced viral immunity. HTVC019Pvirus pelagiphages are a rare example of cultured lysogenic phage that can be implicated in ecological processes on broad scales. These pelagiphages have the potential to become a useful model for investigating strategies of host infection and phage‐dependent horizontal gene transfer.
Paediatric intentional head injuries in the emergency department: A multicentre prospective cohort study
Authors: Babl Franz E , Pfeiffer Helena , Dalziel Stuart R , Oakley Ed , Anderson Vicki , Borland Meredith L , Phillips Natalie , Kochar Amit , Dalton Sarah , Cheek John A , Gilhotra Yuri , Furyk Jeremy , Neutze Jocelyn , Lyttle Mark D , Bressan Silvia , Donath Susan , Hearps Stephen JC , Crowe Louise ,   on behalf of the Paediatric Research in Emergency Departments International Collaborative (PREDICT)
Published: November 2018

Objective

Although there is a large body of research on head injury (HI) inflicted by caregivers in young children, little is known about intentional HI in older children and inflicted HI by perpetrators other than carers. Therefore, we set out to describe epidemiology, demographics and severity of intentional HIs in childhood.

Methods

A planned secondary analysis of a prospective multicentre cohort study was conducted in 10 EDs in Australia and New Zealand, including children aged <18 years with HIs. Epidemiology codes were used to prospectively code the injuries. Demographic and clinical information including the rate of clinically important traumatic brain injury (ciTBI: HI leading to death, neurosurgery, intubation >1 day or admission ≥2 days with abnormal computed tomography [CT]) was descriptively analysed.

Results

Intentional injuries were identified in 372 of 20 137 (1.8%) head‐injured children. Injuries were caused by caregivers (103, 27.7%), by peers (97, 26.1%), by siblings (47, 12.6%), by strangers (35, 9.4%), by persons with unknown relation to the patient (21, 5.6%), other intentional injuries (8, 2.2%) or undetermined intent (61, 16.4%). About 75.7% of victims of assault by caregivers were <2 years, whereas in other categories, only 4.9% were <2 years. Overall, 66.9% of victims were male. Rates of CT performance and abnormal CT varied: assault by caregivers 68.9%/47.6%, by peers 18.6%/27.8%, by strangers 37.1%/5.7%. ciTBI rate was 22.3% in assault by caregivers, 3.1% when caused by peers and 0.0% with other perpetrators.

Conclusions

Intentional HI is infrequent in children. The most frequently identified perpetrators are caregivers and peers. Caregiver injuries are particularly severe.
Biological control of bacterial plant diseases with Lactobacillus plantarum strains selected for their broad‐spectrum activity
Authors: Daranas Núria , Roselló Gemma , Cabrefiga Jordi , Donati Irene , Francés Jesús , Badosa Esther , Spinelli Francesco , Montesinos Emilio , Bonaterra Anna
Published: November 2018

The use of lactic acid bacteria (LAB) to control multiple pathogens that affect different crops was studied, namely, Pseudomonas syringae pv. actinidiae in kiwifruit, Xanthomonas arboricola pv. pruni in Prunus and Xanthomonas fragariae in strawberry. A screening procedure based on in vitro and in planta assays of the three bacterial pathogens was successful in selecting potential LAB strains as biological control agents. The antagonistic activity of 55 strains was first tested in vitro and the strains Lactobacillus plantarum CC100, PM411 and TC92, and Leuconostoc mesenteroides CM160 and CM209 were selected because of their broad‐spectrum activity. The biocontrol efficacy of the selected strains was assessed using a multiple‐pathosystem approach in greenhouse conditions. L. plantarum PM411 and TC92 prevented all three pathogens from infecting their corresponding plant hosts. In addition, the biocontrol performance of PM411 and TC92 was comparable to the reference products (Bacillus amyloliquefaciens D747, Bacillus subtilis QST713, chitosan, acibenzolar‐S‐methyl, copper and kasugamycin) in semi‐field and field experiments. The in vitro inhibitory mechanism of PM411 and TC92 is based, at least in part, on a pH lowering effect and the production of lactic acid. Moreover, both strains showed similar survival rates on leaf surfaces. PM411 and TC92 can easily be distinguished because of their different multilocus sequence typing and random amplified polymorphic DNA profiles.
How competent are people who use opioids at responding to overdoses? Qualitative analyses of actions and decisions taken during overdose emergencies
Authors: Neale Joanne , Brown Caral , Campbell Aimee N. C. , Jones Jermaine D. , Metz Verena E. , Strang John , Comer Sandra D.
Published: November 2018

Background and Aims

Providing take‐home naloxone (THN) to people who use opioids is an increasingly common strategy for reversing opioid overdose. However, implementation is hindered by doubts regarding the ability of people who use opioids to administer naloxone and respond appropriately to overdoses. We aimed to increase understanding of the competencies required and demonstrated by opioid users who had recently participated in a THN programme and were subsequently confronted with an overdose emergency.

Design

Qualitative study designed to supplement findings from a randomized controlled trial of overdose education and naloxone distribution. Interviews were audio‐recorded, transcribed, systematically coded and analysed via Iterative Categorization.

Setting

New York City, USA.

Participants

Thirty‐nine people who used opioids (32 men, 7 women; aged 22–58 years).

Intervention

Trial participants received brief or extended overdose training and injectable or nasal naloxone.

Measurements

The systematic coding frame comprised deductive codes based on the topic guide and more inductive codes emerging from the data.

Findings

In 38 of 39 cases the victim was successfully resuscitated; the outcome of one overdose intervention was unknown. Analyses revealed five core overdose response ‘tasks’: (1) overdose identification; (2) mobilizing support; (3) following basic first aid instructions; (4) naloxone administration; and (5) post‐resuscitation management. These tasks comprised actions and decisions that were themselves affected by diverse cognitive, emotional, experiential, interpersonal and social factors over which lay responders often had little control. Despite this, participants demonstrated high levels of competency. They had acquired new skills and knowledge through training and brought critical ‘insider’ understanding to overdose events and the resuscitation actions which they applied.

Conclusions

People who use opioids can be trained to respond appropriately to opioid overdoses and thus to save their peers’ lives. Overdose response requires both practical competency (e.g. skills and knowledge in administering basic first aid and naloxone) and social competency (e.g. willingness to help others, having the confidence to be authoritative and make decisions, communicating effectively and demonstrating compassion and care to victims post‐resuscitation).
Time since first cannabis use and 12‐month prevalence of cannabis use disorder among youth and emerging adults in the United States
Authors: Han Beth , Compton Wilson M. , Blanco Carlos , Jones Christopher M.
Published: November 2018

Aim

This study estimated whether and how the 12‐month prevalence of cannabis use disorder among US youth aged 12–17 and emerging adults aged 18–25 varied by time since first cannabis use.

Design

Repeated cross‐sectional survey data from the 2015–17 National Surveys on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH).

Setting

United States.

Participants

A total of 101 000 NSDUH participants aged 12–25.

Measurements

Past 12‐month cannabis use disorder was assessed using DSM‐IV criteria.

Findings

Among youth, the life‐time prevalence of cannabis use was 15.3% [95% confidence interval (CI) = 14.86–15.65%]. Among emerging adults, the life‐time prevalence of cannabis use was 52.4% (95% CI = 51.77–53.01%). The adjusted 12‐month prevalence of cannabis use disorder among youth with life‐time cannabis use was 10.9% (95% CI = 9.24–12.75%) in the first year after starting cannabis use, 15.3% (95% CI = 13.68–17.12%) in the second year, 17.7% (95% CI = 15.55–19.97%) in the third year and 20.6% (95% CI = 18.23–23.17%) in the fourth year and beyond, which was consistently higher after the first year (linear trend only: P < 0.0001). The adjusted 12‐month prevalence of cannabis use disorder among emerging adults with life‐time use ranged from 5.6% (95% CI = 4.26–7.23%) in the first year after starting cannabis use, 7.7% (95% CI = 6.45–9.17%) in the second year and 9.1% (95% CI = 7.81–10.57%) in the third year to 10.5% (95% CI = 9.87%–11.12%) in the fourth year and beyond, which was consistently higher after the first year (linear trend only: P < 0.0001). Within each time‐frame since first cannabis use, the adjusted 12‐month prevalence of cannabis use disorder was higher among youth life‐time users than their emerging adult counterparts.

Conclusions

Among youth and emerging adults in the United States, the prevalence of cannabis use disorder appears to increase with time since initiation of use and is higher among youth than among emerging adults during each examined time‐frame.