bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Effect of driving frequency on the electron energy distribution function and electron-sheath interaction in a low pressure capacitively coupled plasma
Authors: Sharma S. , Sirse N. , Kaw P. K. , Turner M. M. , Ellingboe A. R.
Published: November 2016

By using a self-consistent particle-in-cell simulation, we investigated the effect of driving frequency (27.12–70 MHz) on the electron energy distribution function (EEDF) and electron-sheath interaction in a low pressure (5 mTorr) capacitively coupled Ar discharge for a fixed discharge voltage. We observed a mode transition with driving frequency, changing the shape of EEDF from a strongly bi-Maxwellian at a driving frequency of 27.12 MHz to a convex type distribution at an intermediate frequency, 50 MHz, and finally becomes a weak bi-Maxwellian at a higher driving frequency, i.e., above 50 MHz. The transition is caused by the electric field transients, which is of the order of electron plasma frequency caused by the energetic “beams” of electrons ejected from near the sheath edge. Below the transition frequency, 50 MHz, these high energy electrons redistribute their energy with low energy electrons, thereby increasing the effective electron temperature in the plasma, whereas the plasma density remains nearly constant. Above the transition frequency, high-energy electrons are confined between opposite sheaths, which increase the ionization probability and therefore the plasma density increases drastically.
Highly-mismatched InAs/InSe heterojunction diodes
Authors: Velichko A. V. , Kudrynskyi Z. R. , Di Paola D. M. , Makarovsky O. , Kesaria M. , Krier A. , Sandall I. C. , Tan C. H. , Kovalyuk Z. D. , Patanè A.
Published: November 2016

We report on heterojunction diodes prepared by exfoliation and direct mechanical transfer of a p-type InSe thin film onto an n-type InAs epilayer. We show that despite the different crystal structures and large lattice mismatch (∼34%) of the component layers, the junctions exhibit rectification behaviour with rectification ratios of ∼104 at room temperature and broad-band photoresponse in the near infrared and visible spectral ranges.
Phenotyping approaches to evaluate nitrogen-use efficiency related traits of diverse wheat varieties under field conditions
Authors: Nguyen Giao N. , Panozzo Joe , Spangenberg German , Kant Surya
Published: November 2016

Nitrogen (N) is a key mineral element required for crop growth, yield and quality. Nitrogen-use efficiency (NUE) in crop plants is low despite significant research efforts. Excessive use of N fertiliser results in significant economic cost and contributes to environmental pollution. Therefore, it is crucial to develop crop varieties with improved NUE, and this requires efficient phenotyping approaches to screen genotypes under defined N conditions. To address this, 15 wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) varieties, grown under three N levels, were phenotyped for NUE-related traits under field conditions. Significant genotypic differences were observed in varieties having low to high responsiveness to N applications. The results suggest that basal low N can be used to screen wheat varieties that are less responsive to N, whereas N supply from 80 to 160 kg N ha–1 could be used to screen high N-responsive varieties. Normalised difference vegetation index (NDVI) measured by using Crop Circle, and SPAD units measured by SPAD meter at heading stage, were well correlated with shoot dry biomass, grain yield, and shoot and grain N concentration, and could potentially be used as tools to phenotype different wheat varieties under varying N treatments. The data also demonstrated that NDVI and SPAD could be used to differentiate wheat varieties phenotypically for NUE-related traits. The prospect of utilising efficient, non-destructive phenotyping to study NUE in crops is also discussed.
Divergence of ectodermal and mesodermal gene regulatory network linkages in early development of sea urchins
Authors: Erkenbrack Eric M.
Published: November 2016

Significance

Sea urchins (echinoids) consist of two subclasses, cidaroids and euechinoids. Research on gene regulatory networks (GRNs) in the early development of three euechinoids indicates that little appreciable change has occurred to their linkages since they diverged ∼90 million years ago (mya). I asked whether this conservation extends to all echinoids. I systematically analyzed the spatiotemporal expression and function of regulatory genes segregating euechinoid ectoderm and mesoderm in a cidaroid. I report marked divergence of GRN architecture in early embryonic specification of the oral–aboral axis in echinoids. Although I found evidence for diverged regulation of both mesodermal and ectodermal genes, comparative analyses indicated that, since these two clades diverged 268 mya, mesodermal GRNs have undergone significantly more alterations than ectodermal GRNs.
Iran in the Nazi New Order, 1933–1941
Authors: Jenkins Jennifer
Published: November 2016

Despite a succession of scholarly studies over the years, the relationship between Reza Shah’s Iran and National Socialist Germany has not been fully explored. Rather than focusing on the supposed Aryan ideological sympathies that bound the two countries together, this article argues that the real driver of the German–Iranian relationship in the 1930s was economic and based in the mutual interaction of state economic initiatives. It states that Iran’s place in Nazism’s economic system was the outcome of two factors: the “New Plan” of Reich Economics Minister Hjalmar Schacht, and its focus on clearing agreements as a motor for depression-era trade, and the connections of Schacht’s system to Reza Shah’s strategy to modernize Iran. In exploring this issue the article focuses on relations between Germany and Iran during three distinct moments: first, the period from 1918 to 1928 and the working out of a new relationship after the First World War; secondly the period of Schacht’s New Plan in Iran in the mid-1930s; and finally the period from the signing of the Nazi-Soviet Pact in 1939 to the British–Soviet invasion of Iran in 1941. During this last period Iran both belonged to the Nazi–Soviet trade zone created by the Pact and attempted to defend its neutrality.
Evidence for View-Invariant Face Recognition Units in Unfamiliar Face Learning
Authors: Etchells David B. , Brooks Joseph L. , Johnston Robert A.
Published: November 2016

Many models of face recognition incorporate the idea of a face recognition unit (FRU), an abstracted representation formed from each experience of a face which aids recognition under novel viewing conditions. Some previous studies have failed to find evidence of this FRU representation. Here, we report three experiments which investigated this theoretical construct by modifying the face learning procedure from that in previous work. During learning, one or two views of previously unfamiliar faces were shown to participants in a serial matching task. Later, participants attempted to recognize both seen and novel views of the learned faces (recognition phase). Experiment 1 tested participants’ recognition of a novel view, a day after learning. Experiment 2 was identical, but tested participants on the same day as learning. Experiment 3 repeated Experiment 1, but tested participants on a novel view that was outside the rotation of those views learned. Results revealed a significant advantage, across all experiments, for recognizing a novel view when two views had been learned compared to single view learning. The observed view invariance supports the notion that an FRU representation is established during multi-view face learning under particular learning conditions.
Agriculture in Arab countries: selected indicators
Authors: El-Khoury Gabi
Published: November 2016

In line with the global trend, this statistical file assumes that the Arab countries are in a situation where they must find ways of feeding the growing population with a limited amount of land and water and other natural resources. It also assumes that the population in the Arab region is becoming increasingly urban. This represents a clear challenge for the region to ensure that agricultural communities are able to contribute to ensuring that expanding urban populations have access to safe and nutritious food, recognizing the crucial role of agriculture in reducing rural poverty, malnutrition in poor countries and, at the same time, contribute to sustainable development. Table 1 introduces statements on the rural population, while Table 2 gives figures on agricultural labour forces. Table 3 provides figures on total and cultivated areas, while Table 4 presents statements on land use. Table 5 is concerned with agricultural production and its contribution to gross domestic product (GDP), while Tables 6 and 7 present statements on agricultural and food imports and exports. Figures on Arab countries’ contribution to the food gap value, self-sufficiency ratio (SSR) in main agricultural products and on the proportion of the under-nourished in Arab countries and their ranking in the Economist Intelligence Unit’s Global Food Security Index (GFSI) 2016 are shown in Tables 8–10 respectively.
Remitting seronegative symmetrical synovitis with pitting oedema (RS3PE) case presentation and comparison with other polyarthritides affecting older people
Authors: Eguia Hans A. , Parodi Garcia José Francisco , Ramas Diez Covadonga , Eguia A. Edwin A.
Published: November 2016

Remitting seronegative symmetrical synovitis with pitting oedema (RS3PE) syndrome mainly affects elderly men and responds well to steroids. Since this syndrome can resemble other diseases, its diagnosis is a significant challenge. Through the following paper, we hope to improve the diagnosis of RS3PE by presenting a table comparing RS3PE to two other common polyarthritic conditions affecting the elderly.
On the Acquisition of Prepositions and Particles
Authors: Sugisaki Koji
Published: November 2016

The syntax and semantics of adpositions and particles show substantial cross-linguistic variation, leading to an important question of how children converge on the target grammar. This chapter focuses on cross-linguistic variation in, and acquisition of, two syntactic phenomena that centrally involve prepositions and particles: preposition stranding and the verb-particle construction. Since languages permitting verb-particle constructions are somewhat uncommon, and languages permitting preposition stranding are downright rare, evidence from child language constitutes an extremely important source of insight into the parametric variation permitted in these areas of syntax. Major findings from acquisitional and comparative investigations summarized in this chapter suggest that preposition stranding and verb-particle constructions are both dependent on the availability of productive endocentric compounding.
Evaluation of the New Compound Oxathiapiprolin for Control of Downy Mildew in Basil
Authors: Patel Jaimin S. , Novaes Maria I. Costa de , Zhang Shouan
Published: November 2016

This study was conducted to evaluate a new chemical, oxathiapiprolin, as a seed treatment and foliar application for control of downy mildew of basil, caused by Peronospora belbahrii, and to assess the in vitro sensitivity of P. belbahrii to oxathiapiprolin. In the greenhouse, both foliar application and seed treatment with oxathiapiprolin significantly (P < 0.05) reduced downy mildew severity on basil and increased width of cotyledons compared to the non-treated control. In field experiments, foliar applications of oxathiapiprolin alone, as a tank mixture, or in alternation with azoxystrobin, potassium phosphite, or tea tree oil significantly reduced downy mildew severity and increased the basil yield compared to the non-treated control. In the laboratory test, EC50 values of sensitive P. belbahrii isolates ranged from 0.00033 μg/ml to 0.00040 μg/ml oxathiapiprolin, providing important information on baseline sensitivity of P. belbahrii to oxathiapiprolin. The results indicate that oxathiapiprolin can be applied as foliar applications in combination or in alternation with azoxystrobin or potassium phosphite to control the disease effectively.

Accepted for publication 1 November 2015. Published 13 November 2015.
Carcinogenesis of Vulvar Lesions: Morphology and Immunohistochemistry Evaluation
Authors: Rivero Raquel Camara , Garcia Deborah , Hammes Luciano Serpa , Cerski Marcelle Reesink , Magno Valentino , Kliemann Lúcia Maria , Capp Edison
Published: November 2016

Objectives

The aim of the study was to assess the 2 pathways of vulvar carcinogenesis and correlate immunohistochemical expression of p53 with histopathological findings.

Materials and Methods

This cross-sectional study included 76 cases. Patients were classified according to the 2004 International Society for the Study of Vulvovaginal Disease Terminology, followed by a review of clinical records and immunohistochemical staining for p53.

Results

Fifteen cases were in the human papillomavirus (HPV)-associated pathway (12 cases of usual vulvar intraepithelial neoplasia [VIN] and 3 of warty squamous cell carcinoma [SCC]), and 13 cases were in the HPV-independent pathway (5 cases of differentiated VIN and 8 of keratinizing SCC). Significant differences in p53 expression were observed between the 2 pathways of carcinogenesis: in the lesions related to the HPV-independent pathway, the percentage of p53-positive cells was greater (>25%, p < .001), and the staining pattern was basal (extending into the middle layer) in differentiated VIN and diffuse or infiltrative in warty SCC (p < 0.001). In the lesions HPV-associated pathway, p53 staining was less extensive (≤10% of cells, p < 0.001) and followed basal pattern in usual VIN, whereas warty SCCs were negative for p53 (p < 0.001).

Conclusions

Unique patterns of histological appearance and p53 expression can separate vulvar lesions into 2 distinct pathways of carcinogenesis. We propose that p53 immunohistochemistry may be performed simultaneously with histopathological examination in all cases of VIN and vulvar SCC, because it would aid in definition of the pathway of carcinogenesis and thus enable better clinical follow-up of patients with these conditions.
Value of IgA tTG in Predicting Mucosal Recovery in Children With Celiac Disease on a Gluten‐Free Diet
Authors: Leonard Maureen M. , Weir Dascha C. , DeGroote Maya , Mitchell Paul D. , Singh Prashant , Silvester Jocelyn A. , Leichtner Alan M. , Fasano Alessio
Published: November 2016

Objectives:

Our objective was to determine the rate of mucosal recovery in pediatric patients with celiac disease on a gluten‐free diet. We also sought to determine whether immunoglobulin A tissue transglutaminase (tTG) correlates with mucosal damage at the time of a repeat endoscopy with duodenal biopsy in these patients.

Methods:

We performed a retrospective chart review of 103 pediatric patients, younger than 21 years, with a diagnosis of celiac disease defined as Marsh 3 histology, and who underwent a repeat endoscopy with duodenal biopsy at least 12 months after initiating a gluten‐free diet.

Results:

We found that 19% of pediatric patients treated with a gluten‐free diet had persistent enteropathy. At the time of the repeat biopsy, tTG was elevated in 43% of cases with persistent enteropathy and 32% of cases in which there was mucosal recovery. Overall the positive predictive value of the autoantibody tTG was 25% and the negative predictive value was 83% in patients on a gluten‐free diet for a median of 2.4 years.

Conclusions:

Nearly 1 in 5 children with celiac disease in our population had persistent enteropathy despite maintaining a gluten‐free diet and immunoglobulin A tTG was not an accurate marker of mucosal recovery. Neither the presence of symptoms nor positive serology were predictive of a patient's histology at the time of repeat biopsy. These findings suggest a revisitation of monitring and management criteria of celiac disease in childhood.
Legal and ethical issues of using brain imaging to diagnose pain
Authors: Davis Karen D.
Published: November 2016

Pain, by definition, is a subjective experience, and as such its presence has usually been based on a self-report. However, limitations of self-reports for pain diagnostics, particularly for legal and insurance purposes, has led some to consider a brain-imaging–based objective measure of pain. This review will provide an overview of (1) differences between pain and nociception, (2) intersubject variability in pain perception and the associated brain structures and functional circuits, and (3) capabilities and limitations of current brain-imaging technologies. I then discuss how these factors impact objective proxies of pain. Finally, the ethical, privacy, and legal implications of a brain-imaging–based objective measure of pain are considered as potential future technological developments necessary to create a so-called “painometer test.”
The Role of Agonistic Striving in the Association Between Cortisol and High Blood Pressure
Authors: Ewart Craig K. , Elder Gavin J. , Jorgensen Randall S. , Fitzgerald Sheila T.
Published: November 2016

Objective

A social action theory of chronic stress proposes that agonistic striving (seeking to influence or control others) impairs cardiovascular health by magnifying the impact of high adversity-induced cortisol levels on blood pressure. We tested three predictions of social action theory: (1) the social action theory taxonomy of regulatory strivings characterizes young adults from high-adversity neighborhoods; (2) high cortisol levels predict high blood pressure more reliably in the subgroup with the agonistic striving profile than in subgroups with other profiles; (3) the association of higher cortisol and higher blood pressure with agonistic striving is not explained by negative affect (depressive symptoms/dysphoria, anger, hostility).

Methods

Participants were young adults (N = 198, mean [SD] age = 32 [3.4] years); 71% female; 65% black) from disadvantaged urban neighborhoods. Motive profiles (including agonistic strivings) were assessed using the Social Competence Interview. Cortisol levels were derived from saliva samples; blood pressure level was obtained during two days of ambulatory monitoring. Psychological measures of negative affect were assessed using questionnaires.

Results

The predicted taxonomy of regulatory strivings was replicated in this sample; the interaction between cortisol and motive profile was significant (F(2, 91) = 6.72, p = .002); analyses of simple effects disclosed that higher cortisol levels predicted higher ambulatory blood pressure only in individuals who exhibited agonistic striving. Depressive symptoms/dysphoria, trait anger, and hostility were not correlated with agonistic striving, cortisol, or blood pressure.

Conclusions

Agonistic striving may represent a distinctive (and novel) social-cognitive mechanism of toxic stress and cardiovascular risk.
Understanding cutaneous tuberculosis: two clinical cases
Authors: De Maio Flavio , Trecarichi Enrico Maria , Visconti Elena , Sanguinetti Maurizio , Delogu Giovanni , Sali Michela
Published: November 2016

Tuberculosis (TB) is an ancient human disease and remains today one of the most important public health problems and the second most frequent cause of death from an infectious disease worldwide. While pulmonary TB is the most common form, extra-pulmonary TB is on the rise due to the increase in immunosuppressed subjects. Cutaneous TB manifestations are rare forms of extra-pulmonary TB due to systemic dissemination of bacilli or direct inoculation, involving skin or skin-associated tissue, more common in immunocompromised subjects. Some risk factors and the features of the lesion may prompt the suspicion of cutaneous TB, but only microbiological assays can confirm the diagnosis. Our work summarizes cutaneous TB manifestations and differences from other skin mycobacterial infections, also describes two characteristic clinical cases.
Interrogating the Topological Robustness of Gene Regulatory Circuits
Authors: Huang Bin , Lu Mingyang , Jia Dongya , Ben-Jacob Eshel , Levine Herbert , Onuchic Jose N.
Published: November 2016

One of the most important roles of cells is performing their cellular tasks properly for survival. Cells usually achieve robust functionality, for example cell-fate decision-making and signal transduction, through multiple layers of regulation involving many genes. Despite the combinatorial complexity of gene regulation, its quantitative behavior has been typically studied on the basis of experimentally-verified core gene regulatory circuitry, composed of a small set of important elements. It is still unclear how such a core circuit operates in the presence of many other regulatory molecules and in a crowded and noisy cellular environment. Here we report a new computational method, named random circuit perturbation (RACIPE), for interrogating the robust dynamical behavior of a gene regulatory circuit even without accurate measurements of circuit kinetic parameters. RACIPE generates an ensemble of random kinetic models corresponding to a fixed circuit topology, and utilizes statistical tools to identify generic properties of the circuit. By applying RACIPE to simple toggle-switch-like motifs, we observed that the stable states of all models converge to experimentally observed gene state clusters even when the parameters are strongly perturbed. RACIPE was further applied to a proposed 22-gene network of the Epithelial-to-Mesenchymal transition (EMT), from which we identified four experimentally observed gene states, including the states that are associated with two different types of hybrid Epithelial/Mesenchymal phenotypes. Our results suggest that dynamics of a gene circuit is mainly determined by its topology, not by detailed circuit parameters. Our work provides a theoretical foundation for circuit-based systems biology modeling. We anticipate RACIPE to be a powerful tool to predict and decode circuit design principles in an unbiased manner, and to quantitatively evaluate the robustness and heterogeneity of gene expression.
Evaluation of the accuracy of imputed sequence variants and their utility for causal variant detection in cattle
Authors: Pausch Hubert , MacLeod Iona M , Fries Ruedi , Emmerling Reiner , Bowman Phil J , Daetwyler Hans D , Goddard Michael E
Published: November 2016

Background

The availability of dense genotypes and whole-genome sequence variants from various sources offers the opportunity to compile large data sets consisting of tens of thousands of individuals with genotypes at millions of polymorphic sites that may enhance the power of genomic analyses. The imputation of missing genotypes ensures that all individuals have genotypes for a shared set of variants.

Results

We evaluated the accuracy of imputation from dense genotypes to whole-genome sequence variants in 249 Fleckvieh and 450 Holstein cattle usingMinimacandFImpute. The sequence variants of a subset of the animals were reduced to the variants that were included in the Illumina BovineHD genotyping array and subsequently inferredin silicousing either within-or multi-breed reference populations. The accuracy of imputation varied considerably across chromosomes and dropped at regions where the bovine genome contains segmental duplications. Depending on the imputation strategy, the correlation between imputed and true genotypes ranged from 0.898 to 0.952. The accuracy of imputation was higher withMinimacthanFImputeparticularly for variants with low MAF. Considering a multi-breed reference population increased the accuracy of imputation, particularly whenFImputewas used to infer genotypes. When the sequence variants were imputed usingMinimac, the true genotypes were more correlated to predicted allele dosages than best-guess genotypes. The computing costs to impute 23,256,743 sequence variants in 6958 animals were ten-fold higher withMinimacthanFImpute. Association studies with imputed sequence variants revealed seven quantitative trait loci (QTL) for milk fat percentage. Two causal mutations in theDGAT1andGHRgenes were the most significantly associated variants at two QTL on chromosomes 14 and 20 whenMinimacwas used to infer genotypes.

Conclusions

The population-based imputation of millions of sequence variants in large cohorts is computationally feasible and provides accurate genotypes. However, the accuracy of imputation is low at regions where the genome contains large segmental duplications or the coverage with array-derived SNPs is poor. Using a reference population that includes individuals from many breeds increases the accuracy of imputation particularly at low-frequency variants. Considering allele dosages rather than best-guess genotypes as explanatory variables is advantageous to detect causal mutations in association studies with imputed sequence variants.
Bridging multiple scales in the human brain using computational modelling
Authors: Schirner Michael , McIntosh Anthony Randal , Jirsa Viktor K. , Deco Gustavo , Ritter Petra
Published: November 2016

Brain dynamics span multiple spatial and temporal scales, from fast spiking neurons to slow fluctuations over distributed areas. No single experimental method links data across scales. Here, we bridge this gap using The Virtual Brain connectome-based modelling platform to integrate multimodal data with biophysical models and support neurophysiological inference. Simulated cell populations were linked with subject-specific white-matter connectivity estimates and driven by electroencephalography-derived electric source activity. The models were fit to subject-specific resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging data, and overfitting was excluded using 5-fold cross-validation. Further evaluation of the models show how balancing excitation with feedback inhibition generates an inverse relationship between α-rhythms and population firing on a faster time scale and resting-state network oscillations on a slower time scale. Lastly, large-scale interactions in the model lead to the emergence of scale-free power-law spectra. Our novel findings underscore the integrative role for computational modelling to complement empirical studies.
Two cadmium coordination polymers with bridging acetate and phenylenediamine ligands that exhibit two-dimensional layered structures
Authors: Geiger David K. , Parsons Dylan E. , Pagano Bracco A.
Published: November 2016

Poly[tetra-μ2-acetato-κ8O:O′-bis(μ2-benzene-1,2-diamine-κ2N:N′)dicadmium], [Cd2(CH3COO)4(C6H8N2)2]n, (I), and poly[[(μ2-acetato-κ2O:O′)(acetato-κ2O,O′)(μ2-benzene-1,3-diamine-κ2N:N′)cadmium] hemihydrate], {[Cd(CH3COO)2(C6H8N2)]·0.5H2O}n, (II), have two-dimensional polymeric structures in which monomeric units are joined by bridging acetate and benzenediamine ligands. Each of the CdIIions has an O4N2coordination environment. The coordination geometries of the symmetry-independent CdIIions are distorted octahedral and distorted trigonal antiprismatic in (I) and distorted antiprismatic in (II). Both compounds exhibit an intralayer hydrogen-bonding network. In addition, the water of hydration in (II) is involved in interlayer hydrogen bonding.
6-Amino-3-methyl-1-phenyl-1H-pyrazolo[3,4-b]pyrazine-5-carboxamide
Authors: Kaur Manpreet , Mohamed Shaaban K. , Akkurt Mehmet , Jasinski Jerry P. , El-Emary Talaat I. , Albayati Mustafa R.
Published: November 2016

In the title compound, C13H12N6O, the pyrazolo[3,4-b]pyrazine ring system is planar (r.m.s. deviation for the nine fitted atoms = 0.024 Å) and makes a dihedral angle of 5.72 (6)° with the pendent phenyl ring. The molecular conformation is stabilized by intramolecular N—H...O and C—H...N hydrogen bonds, each generating anS(6) loop. In the crystal, pairs of molecules are connected into inversion dimers by strong N—H...O hydrogen bonds, formingR22(8) ring motifs. These are linked into sheets parallel to (100)viaN—H...N hydrogen bonds; π–π interactions between symmetry-related pyrazole and phenyl rings [centroid–centroid distances = 3.4453 (9) Å] within the sheets are also noted.
Cognitive impairment in older people with alcohol use disorders in a UK community mental health service
Authors: Rao Rahul
Published: November 2016

Purpose

The assessment of cognitive impairment in community services for older people remains under-explored. The paper aims to discuss this issue.

Design/methodology/approach

Cognitive impairment was examined in 25 people aged 65 and over with alcohol use disorders, on the caseload of community mental health services over a six-month period. All subjects assessed using Addenbrooke’s Cognitive Assessment (ACE-III).

Findings

In total, 76 per cent of the group scored below the cut-off point for likely dementia but only 45 per cent of people scored below the cut-off point for tests of language, compared with 68-84 per cent people in other domains.

Research limitations/implications

This finding has implications for the detection of alcohol-related brain cognitive impairment in clinical settings.

Practical implications

Standardised cognitive testing is common within mental health services for older people, but may also have utility within addiction services.

Social implications

The early detection of alcohol-related cognitive impairment can improve social outcomes in both drinking behaviour and the social consequences of alcohol-related dementia.

Originality/value

This may be the first published study of cognitive impairment in patients under a mental team for older people with alcohol use disorders and offers some unique findings within this sampling frame.
Antecedents and consequences of psychological contract breach
Authors: Peng J.C. , Jien Jia-Jing , Lin Julian
Published: November 2016

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to investigate store-level servant leadership and the procedural justice climate (PJC) as key antecedents for employee-perceived psychological contract breach (PCB) and explores the mediating roles of PCB in the relationships among servant leadership, the PJC and deviant employee behavior.

Design/methodology/approach

Survey data were collected from 301 employees at 94 stores of a restaurant chain in Taiwan. The model and hypotheses were tested using hierarchical linear modeling.

Findings

The results support the moderated mediation model, showing that the indirect effects of servant leadership and PJC on deviant employee behavior through PCB were stronger for employees with an external locus of causality attribution than for those with an internal locus.

Research limitations/implications

The study relied on cross-sectional survey design, therefore the authors cannot infer causality.

Practical implications

The results will help organizations and managers understand that supervisor servant leadership has suppressive effects on deviant employee behavior through the intermediary mechanism of negative psychological perception (i.e. the perception of a PCB).

Originality/value

The primary purpose of this study is to examine the influences of store-level servant leadership and the PJC on employee deviance and to examine the mediating role played by PCB. The findings suggest a significantly negative relationship.
Construction and application of specialty-term information for document re-ranking
Authors: Chou Shihchieh , Dai Zhangting
Published: November 2016

Purpose

Conventional studies mainly classify a term’s appearance in the retrieved documents as either relevant or irrelevant for application. The purpose of this paper is to differentiate the term’s appearances in the retrieved documents in more detailed situations to generate relevance information and demonstrate the applicability of the derived information in combination with current methods of query expansion.

Design/methodology/approach

A method was designed first to utilize the derived information owing to term appearance differentiation within a conventional query expansion approach that has been proven as an effective technology in the enhancement of information retrieval. Then, an information retrieval system was developed to demonstrate the realization and sustain the study of the method. Formal tests were conducted to examine the distinguishing capability of the proposed information utilized in the method.

Findings

The experimental results show that substantial differences in performances can be achieved between the proposed method and the conventional query expansion method alone.

Practical implications

Since the proposed information resides at the bottom of the information hierarchy of relevance feedback, any technology regarding the application of relevance feedback information could consider the utilization of this piece of information.

Originality/value

The importance of the study is the disclosure of the applicability of the proposed information beyond current usage of term appearances in relevant/irrelevant documents and the initiation of a query expansion technology in the application of this information.
User communication behavior in mobile communication software
Authors: Lin Kuan-Yu
Published: November 2016

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to develop a research model examining users’ perceived needs-technology fit of mobile communication software through motivational needs and technological characteristics. The study investigated the effects of perceived needs-technology fit on user satisfaction and intention to continue using mobile communication software.

Design/methodology/approach

This study proposes a research model based on task-technology fit theory and uses and gratification theory, incorporating key determinants of users’ continuance intention toward mobile communication software. An online survey instrument was developed to collect data, and 403 questionnaires were used to test the relationships in the proposed model.

Findings

The causal model was validated using AMOS 21.0, and all nine study hypotheses were supported. The results indicated that users’ perceived needs-technology fit and satisfaction were crucial antecedents of their intention to continue using mobile communication software and that they mediated the influence of users’ needs as well as technological characteristics.

Practical implications

Mobile communication software practitioners should focus on enhancing users’ perceived needs-technology fit through motivational needs (utilitarian, hedonic, and social needs) and technological characteristics (mobile convenience, service compatibility, and user control) to further boost user satisfaction and intention to continue using mobile communication software services.

Originality/value

This study contributes to a theoretical understanding of factors explaining users’ continuance intention toward mobile communication software.
Influence of knowledge transfer on SNS community cohesiveness
Authors: Kim Changsu , Kang Minghui , Wang Tao
Published: November 2016

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine whether social networking site (SNS) communities benefit from collective knowledge and collaboration, which represent a portfolio of knowledge transfer on SNSs.

Design/methodology/approach

A survey was conducted on a large scale through an online questionnaire. Structural equation modeling was employed to analyze data collected from 674 experienced SNS users.

Findings

The results indicate that all three exogenous variables, presented as user characteristics and integrated into SNS user characteristics, were positively related to the knowledge transfer portfolio, namely, to collective knowledge and collaboration, and these variables had significant moderating effects on SNS users’ community cohesiveness. Early SNS adoption was more likely than late SNS adoption to moderate the relationship between collective knowledge and community cohesiveness and that between collective collaboration and community cohesiveness.

Practical implications

The findings provide useful insights for SNS operators to enhance the process of collaborative knowledge transfer. They may also be used to obtain better insights into important factors that require closer attention during SNS use.

Originality/value

The present study provides a systematic analysis of SNS use by considering a new research model and investigating the effects of SNS-based knowledge transfer on user outcomes based on three major characteristics of SNS users. The results are expected to provide a major foundation for further SNS research and a better understanding of the relationships between SNS user characteristics, knowledge transfer, and community cohesiveness.
A user’s personality prediction approach by mining network interaction behaviors on Facebook
Authors: Chen Tsung-Yi , Tsai Meng-Che , Chen Yuh-Min
Published: November 2016

Purpose

For an enterprise, it is essential to win as many customers as possible. The key to successfully winning customers is often determined by understanding the personality characteristics of the object of communication in order to employ an effective communication strategy. An enterprise needs to obtain the personality information of target or potential customers. However, the traditional method for personality evaluation is extremely costly in terms of time and labor, and it cannot acquire customer personality information without their awareness. Therefore, the manner in which to effectively conduct automated personality predictions for a large number of objects is an important issue. The paper aims to discuss these issues.

Design/methodology/approach

The diverse social media that have emerged in recent years represent a digital platform on which users can publicly deliver speeches and interact with others. Thus, social media may be able to serve the needs of automated personality predictions. Based on user data of Facebook, the main social media platform around the world, this research developed a method for predicting personality types based on interaction logs.

Findings

Experimental results show that the Naïve Bayes classification algorithm combined with a feature selection algorithm produces the best performance for predicting personality types, with 70-80 percent accuracy.

Research limitations/implications

In this research, the dominance, inducement, submission, and compliance (DISC) theory was used to determine personality types. Some specific limitations were encountered. As Facebook was used as the main data source, it was necessary to obtain related data via Facebook’s API (FB API). However, the data types accessible via FB API are very limited.

Practical implications

This research serves to build a universal model for social media interaction, and can be used to propose an efficient method for designing interaction features.

Originality/value

This research has developed an approach for automatically predicting the personality types of network users based on their Facebook interactions.
Status quo bias in information system adoption: a meta-analytic review
Authors: Wu Cheng-Chieh
Published: November 2016

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to clarify the influence of status quo on information system (IS) adoption. Organizations often substantially allocate resources to leverage existing IT investments. The incumbent system deployment and the institutional environment will exert the influence on the new IS adoption of firms. The findings provide insights for explaining why firms conservatively react toward an emerging IT innovation.

Design/methodology/approach

The research design of the present study is consisted of the following steps. First, the related theoretical foundations of system adoption are reviewed for constructing the research framework. Second, based on the status quo bias theory, this study proposes a conceptual model. Third, the research data set was constructed through collecting manuscripts by conducting journal-by-journal searching in electronic databases. Finally, the protocol proposed by Lipsey and Wilson (2001) was used to conduct the meta-analysis.

Findings

Through a meta-analysis with 34 published studies, this study provides three observations. First, the results provide supports for the magnitude and significance of proposed relationships. Second, the relationships between status quo factors, expectations, and IS adoption are indeed related. Third, the considerable variability across effect sizes can be attributed to the type of adoption, the type of focal system, and the type of institutional pressures.

Research limitations/implications

Although the meta-analytic results provide supports for the significance and magnitude of proposed relationships, the follow-up manuscripts searching and further analyses are needed.

Originality/value

This research presents a collective understanding of systems adoption from status quo bias perspective. The findings provide insights for further researches on IS adoption.
Assisting the appraisal of e-mail records with automatic classification
Authors: Vellino André , Alberts Inge
Published: November 2016

Purpose

This paper aims to investigate how automatic classification can assist employees and records managers with the appraisal of e-mails as records of value for the organization.

Design/methodology/approach

The study performed a qualitative analysis of the appraisal behaviours of eight records management experts to train a series of support vector machine classifiers to replicate the decision process for identifying e-mails of business value. Automatic classification experiments were performed on a corpus of 846 e-mails from two of these experts’ mailboxes.

Findings

Despite the highly contextual nature of record value, these experiments show that classifiers have a high degree of accuracy. Unlike existing manual practices in corporate e-mail archiving, machine classification models are not highly dependent on features such as the identity of the sender and receiver or on threading, forwarding or importance flags. Rather, the dominant discriminating features are textual features from the e-mail body and subject field.

Research limitations/implications

The need to automatically classify corporate e-mails is growing in importance, as e-mail remains one of the prevalent recordkeeping challenges.

Practical implications

Automated methods for identifying e-mail records promise to be of significant benefit to organizations that need to appraise e-mail for long-term preservation and access on demand.

Social implications

The research adopts an innovative approach to assist employees and records managers with the appraisal of digital records. By doing so, the research fosters new insights on the adoption of technological strategies to automate recordkeeping tasks, an important research gap.

Originality/value

Our experiment show that a SVM classifier can be trained to replicate an expert's decision process for identifying e-mails of business value with a reasonably high degree of accuracy. In principle, such a classifier could be integrated into a corporate Electronic Document and Records Management System (EDRMS) to improve the quality of e-mail records appraisal.
Citizens in the Making: The Inclusion of Racialized Subjects in Labour Market Projects in Sweden
Authors: Dahlstedt Magnus , Vesterberg Viktor
Published: November 2016

This article analyzes the formation of citizenship in today's multi‐ethnic Sweden in light of the inclusion of ‘people with foreign background’. Particular focus is put on how ethnicity and migration renders visible existing citizenship ideals, defined in terms of similarity and difference on the basis of ethno‐cultural background. The formation of citizenship is analyzed in the case of labour market projects targeting racialized migrants. The point of departure is an understanding of citizenship as an ongoing process of citizen formation, highlighting the formation of citizens as rights‐bearing subjects, belonging to the societal community – in contrast to those not bearing these rights and not belonging to the societal community. The analysis illustrates how norms of Swedish‐ness condition the membership in the Swedish societal community, forming a particular kind of racialized citizenship, including certain subjects, under certain conditions, while excluding others. One conclusion is that in addition to the formal dimensions of citizenship, the ability and willingness to adapt to norms of Swedish‐ness is essential for accessing and using social rights – that is, for becoming employable and included on the labour market. In the projects analyzed, racialized migrants have the duty of becoming employable by embracing certain values – the good, working citizen, the free, independent individual, able to make choices – all constituted as being part of an ideal Swedish citizenship.
Detection of adulteration in milk: A review
Authors: Poonia Amrita , Jha Alok , Sharma Rajan , Singh Harikesh Bahadur , Rai Ashwini Kumar , Sharma Nitya
Published: November 2016

Milk is a wholesome nutritious dairy product and is consumed by a majority of the population worldwide for drinking as such, as well as via dairy products. However, the practice of adulteration of milk invariably reduces its quality and may introduce hazardous substances into the dairy supply chain jeopardising consumers’ health. Various instances of adulteration of milk have been reported globally, wherein substances such as extraneous water, foreign proteins, whey proteins, melamine and urea, vegetable or animal fats, plus many minor constituents of milk fat have been added as potential adulterants in milk and milk products. This review focusses on the different methods of detection of these adulterants in milk using techniques such as DSC, RP‐HPLC, LC‐GC, HPTLC, immunoassays: CE, ELISA, FAMPST, FTIR, NIR spectroscopy, PAGE, IEF, DNA‐based methods and MALDI‐MS that have been developed and employed for the last 25 years. The combination of advanced IR spectroscopy and chemometrics provides a powerful tool for quality and authenticity analysis of milk. An electronic tongue is an easy and economic tool for the detection of caprine milk adulterations with bovine milk. Biosensors having the ability to furnish real‐time signals have been developed for the detection of urea in milk. An attempt has been made to give a clear understanding of the most suitable methods for the determination of various sources of adulteration.
Universal cervical length screening for singleton pregnancies with no history of preterm delivery, or the inverse of the Pareto principle
Authors: Rozenberg P
Published: November 2016

Ultrasound measurement of cervical length in the general population enables the identification of women at risk for spontaneous preterm delivery. Vaginal progesterone is effective in reducing the risk of preterm delivery in this population. This screening associated with treatment by vaginal progesterone is cost‐effective. Universal screening of cervical length can therefore be considered justified. Nonetheless, this screening will not appreciably reduce the preterm birth prevalence: in France or UK, where the preterm delivery rate is around 7.4%, this strategy would make it possible to reduce it only to 7.0%. This small benefit must be set against the considerable effort required in terms of screening ultrasound scans.

Tweetable abstract

Universal ultrasound screening of cervical length is the inverse of Pareto's principle: a small benefit against a considerable effort.