bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Goniometer-based femtosecond X-ray diffraction of mutant 30S ribosomal subunit crystals
Authors: Dao E. Han , Sierra Raymond G. , Laksmono Hartawan , Lemke Henrik T. , Alonso-Mori Roberto , Coey Aaron , Larsen Kevin , Baxter Elizabeth L. , Cohen Aina E. , Soltis S. Michael , DeMirci Hasan
Published: April 2015

In this work, we collected radiation-damage-free data from a set of cryo-cooled crystals for a novel 30S ribosomal subunit mutant using goniometer-based femtosecond crystallography. Crystal quality assessment for these samples was conducted at the X-ray Pump Probe end-station of the Linac Coherent Light Source (LCLS) using recently introduced goniometer-based instrumentation. These 30S subunit crystals were genetically engineered to omit a 26-residue protein, Thx, which is present in the wild-type Thermus thermophilus 30S ribosomal subunit. We are primarily interested in elucidating the contribution of this ribosomal protein to the overall 30S subunit structure. To assess the viability of this study, femtosecond X-ray diffraction patterns from these crystals were recorded at the LCLS during a protein crystal screening beam time. During our data collection, we successfully observed diffraction from these difficult-to-grow 30S ribosomal subunit crystals. Most of our crystals were found to diffract to low resolution, while one crystal diffracted to 3.2 Å resolution. These data suggest the feasibility of pursuing high-resolution data collection as well as the need to improve sample preparation and handling in order to collect a complete radiation-damage-free data set using an X-ray Free Electron Laser.
Identification of the transient stress-induced leakage current in silicon dioxide films for use in microelectromechanical systems capacitive switches
Authors: Ryan C. , Olszewski Z. , Houlihan R. , O'Mahony C. , Blake A. , Duane R.
Published: April 2015

Dielectric charging at low electric fields is characterized on radio-frequency microelectromechanical systems (RF MEMS) capacitive switches. The dielectric under investigation is silicon dioxide deposited by plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition. The switch membrane is fabricated using a metal alloy which is shown to be mechanically robust. In the absence of mechanical degradation, these capacitive switches are appropriate test structures for the study of dielectric charging in MEMS devices. Monitoring the shift and recovery of device capacitance-voltage characteristics revealed the presence of a charging mechanism which takes place across the bottom metal-dielectric interface. Current measurements on metal-insulator-metal devices confirmed the presence of interfacial charging and discharging transient currents. The field- and temperature-dependence of these currents is the same as the well-known transient stress-induced leakage current (SILC) observed in flash memory devices. A simple model was created based on established transient SILC theory which accurately fits the measured data and reveals that charge exchange at the bottom metal-dielectric interface is responsible for charging currents and pull-in voltage changes in these MEMS devices.
Resonant photoemission study of multiferroic LuFe2O4 across three-dimensional to two-dimensional charge ordering
Authors: Patankar S. , Choudhary R. J. , Phase D. M.
Published: April 2015

Electronic structures modification of polycrystalline LuFe2O4 across 3 dimensional to 2 dimensional charge ordering (CO) has been studied by resonance photoemission spectroscopy. Constant-initial-state spectra measured across 3p → 3d resonance energy indicate its charge transfer insulating behavior. Valance band spectra study shows states lying closer to the Fermi level are due to Fe2+ ions. As the temperature is varied from 3D to 2D CO state, a weight transfer of DOS from low binding energy to higher binding energy is observed which is attributed to the modification in the Fe-O hybridized states.
Single-particle structure determination by X-ray free-electron lasers:
Possibilities and challenges
Authors: Hosseinizadeh A. , Dashti A. , Schwander P. , Fung R. , Ourmazd A.
Published: April 2015

Single-particle structure recovery without crystals or radiation damage is a revolutionary possibility offered by X-ray free-electron lasers, but it involves formidable experimental and data-analytical challenges. Many of these difficulties were encountered during the development of cryogenic electron microscopy of biological systems. Electron microscopy of biological entities has now reached a spatial resolution of about 0.3 nm, with a rapidly emerging capability to map discrete and continuous conformational changes and the energy landscapes of biomolecular machines. Nonetheless, single-particle imaging by X-ray free-electron lasers remains important for a range of applications, including the study of large “electron-opaque” objects and time-resolved examination of key biological processes at physiological temperatures. After summarizing the state of the art in the study of structure and conformations by cryogenic electron microscopy, we identify the primary opportunities and challenges facing X-ray-based single-particle approaches, and possible means for circumventing them.
Addition of sodium metabisulfite and microbial phytase, individually and in combination, to a sorghum-based diet for broiler chickens from 7 to 28 days post-hatch
Authors: Truong H. H. , Cadogan D. J. , Liu S. Y. , Selle P. H.
Published: April 2015

Sodium metabisulfite (SMBS; 1.75 g/kg) and phytase (1000 FTU/kg), individually and in combination, were included in steam-pelleted, sorghum-based (580 g/kg) broiler diets from 7 to 28 days post-hatch. Rapid visco-analysis starch pasting properties of dietary treatments were monitored. Parameters of growth performance, nutrient utilisation, relative organ weights, toe ash, excreta moisture, apparent starch and nitrogen digestibility coefficients and disappearance rates in four small intestinal segments were determined. There were significant treatment interactions in the proximal jejunum (P < 0.01) and distal ileum (P < 0.05) for nitrogen digestibility coefficients. SMBS alone significantly increased jejunal nitrogen digestibility by 14.9% (0.634 vs 0.552) but the response to SMBS in combination with phytase was negligible (0.558 vs 0.552). SMBS alone significantly increased ileal nitrogen digestibility by 4.92% (0.786 vs 0.732) but the combination numerically improved digestibility by 0.96% (0.739 vs 0.732). SMBS alone tended to increase starch digestibility by 12.0% (0.691 vs 0.617; P = 0.064) in the proximal jejunum and increased rapidly digestible starch by 17.2% (116 vs 99 g/bird.day; P < 0.02). However, SMBS tended to depress apparent metabolisable energy by 0.33 MJ (P < 0.10). Therefore, consideration is given to the mechanisms influencing starch digestion rates, energy utilisation and nitrogen digestibility interactions between SMBS and phytase in this feeding study.
Effects of heat treatment on oil-binding ability of rice flour
Authors: Tabara Aya , Nakagawa Mariko , Ushijima Yuki , Matsunaga Kotaro , Seguchi Masaharu
Published: April 2015

Heat-treated (120 °C for 120 min) rice flour showed high affinity to oil (oil-binding ability). This oil-binding ability could be observed by shaking the heat-treated rice flour (2.0 g), oil (4.0 mL), and water (20 mL) vigorously in a test tube, and the oil bound to the rice flour sank into the water. To examine the time-dependent levels of the oil-binding ability, rice flour was heat-treated at 120 °C for 10, 20, 40, 60, and 120 min, and the precipitated volume of oil/rice flour complex increased with an increase of the heating time. The oil-binding ability of the rice flour was not affected by the treatments with diethyl ether or boiled chloroform/methanol (2:1) solutions, which suggested no relationship to the oil in the rice flour, but was lost upon alkali (0.2% NaOH solution) or pepsin treatment, which suggested its relationship to the rice proteins.
Heterogeneous catalysis for green chemistry based on nanocrystals
Authors: Liu Yuxi , Zhao Guofeng , Wang Dingsheng , Li Yadong
Published: April 2015

Modern society has an ever-increasing demand for environmentally friendly catalytic processes. Catalysis research is working towards a solution through the development of effective heterogeneous catalysts for environment-related applications. Nanotechnologies have provided effective strategies for the preparation of nanocrystals (NCs) with well-defined sizes, shapes and compositions. Precise control of these NCs provides an important foundation for the studies of structure-performance relationships in catalysis, which is critical to the design of NCs with optimized catalytic performances for practical applications. We focus on recent advances in the development of bottom-up strategies to control NCs structures for some key catalytic applications, including CO oxidation, selective oxidation of alcohols, semihydrogenation of alkynes, and selective hydrogenation of unsaturated aldehydes and nitrobenzene. These key applications have been a popular research focus because of their significance in green chemistry. Herein we also discuss the scientific understandings of the active species and active structures of these systems to gain an insight for rational design of efficient catalytic systems for these catalytic reactions.
Identifying diabetes-related important protein targets with few interacting partners with the PageRank algorithm
Authors: Grolmusz Vince I.
Published: April 2015

Diabetes is a growing concern for the developed nations worldwide. New genomic, metagenomic and gene-technologic approaches may yield considerable results in the next several years in its early diagnosis, or in advances in therapy and management. In this work, we highlight some human proteins that may serve as new targets in the early diagnosis and therapy. With the help of a very successful mathematical tool for network analysis that formed the basis of the early successes of Google
TM
, Inc., we analyse the human protein–protein interaction network gained from the IntAct database with a mathematical algorithm. The novelty of our approach is that the new protein targets suggested do not have many interacting partners (so, they are not hubs or super-hubs), so their inhibition or promotion probably will not have serious side effects. We have identified numerous possible protein targets for diabetes therapy and/or management; some of these have been well known for a long time (these validate our method), some of them appeared in the literature in the last 12 months (these show the cutting edge of the algorithm), and the remainder are still unknown to be connected with diabetes, witnessing completely new hits of the method.
Efficient expansion of global protected areas requires simultaneous planning for species and ecosystems
Authors: Polak Tal , Watson James E. M. , Fuller Richard A. , Joseph Liana N. , Martin Tara G. , Possingham Hugh P. , Venter Oscar , Carwardine Josie
Published: April 2015

The Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD)'s strategic plan advocates the use of environmental surrogates, such as ecosystems, as a basis for planning where new protected areas should be placed. However, the efficiency and effectiveness of this ecosystem-based planning approach to adequately capture threatened species in protected area networks is unknown. We tested the application of this approach in Australia according to the nation's CBD-inspired goals for expansion of the national protected area system. We set targets for ecosystems (10% of the extent of each ecosystem) and threatened species (variable extents based on persistence requirements for each species) and then measured the total land area required and opportunity cost of meeting those targets independently, sequentially and simultaneously. We discover that an ecosystem-based approach will not ensure the adequate representation of threatened species in protected areas. Planning simultaneously for species and ecosystem targets delivered the most efficient outcomes for both sets of targets, while planning first for ecosystems and then filling the gaps to meet species targets was the most inefficient conservation strategy. Our analysis highlights the pitfalls of pursuing goals for species and ecosystems non-cooperatively and has significant implications for nations aiming to meet their CBD mandated protected area obligations.
Homoploid hybrid speciation and genome evolution via chromosome sorting
Authors: Lukhtanov Vladimir A. , Shapoval Nazar A. , Anokhin Boris A. , Saifitdinova Alsu F. , Kuznetsova Valentina G.
Published: April 2015

Genomes of numerous diploid plant and animal species possess traces of interspecific crosses, and many researches consider them as support for homoploid hybrid speciation (HHS), a process by which a new reproductively isolated species arises through hybridization and combination of parts of the parental genomes, but without an increase in ploidy. However, convincing evidence for a creative role of hybridization in the origin of reproductive isolation between hybrid and parental forms is extremely limited. Here, through studyingAgrodiaetusbutterflies, we provide proof of a previously unknown mode of HHS based on the formation of post-zygotic reproductive isolation via hybridization of chromosomally divergent parental species and subsequent fixation of a novel combination of chromosome fusions/fissions in hybrid descendants. We show that meiotic segregation, operating in the hybrid lineage, resulted in the formation of a new diploid genome, drastically rearranged in terms of chromosome number. We also demonstrate that during the heterozygous stage of the hybrid species formation, recombination was limited between rearranged chromosomes of different parental origin, representing evidence that the reproductive isolation was a direct consequence of hybridization.
New insights into underreporting of time: the audit partner context
Authors: Barrainkua Itsaso , Espinosa-Pike Marcela
Published: April 2015

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to provide evidence on underreporting of time (URT) by audit partners and the factors that drive URT at their level. In particular the study tests the relationship between URT and the following variables: pressures perceived by auditors related to audit budgets, the ethical acceptability of URT, the influence of peers and superiors on the resolution of ethical conflicts, and organisational ethical culture. A deeper analysis of URT practices is necessary, as failing to correctly report the total hours worked by audit partners poses a threat to audit quality, and can have a detrimental effect on individual auditors, audit firms, and even the auditing profession itself.

Design/methodology/approach

– A multiple regression data analysis was conducted, based on 84 responses from Spanish audit partners working in small- and medium-sized audit firms.

Findings

– The results reveal that URT is affected by the pressures perceived by auditors related to audit budgets, the ethical acceptability of URT, and the influence of peers and superiors on the resolution of ethical conflicts.

Originality/value

– This study contributes to international literature on the organisational context of audit firms by analysing URT from the perspective of audit partners. It also has practical implications, as it focuses on understanding the beliefs and behavioural patterns of audit partners, which is critical to proposing mechanisms for avoiding dysfunctional behaviour at all levels of audit firms.
Developing campaigns in the context of a disaster
Authors: Uribe Rodrigo , Hidalgo Pedro , Martinez Carolina
Published: April 2015

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper are to determine: how disasters are used as a theme in advertising; how the public evaluates different ways of using disasters in advertising; what dimensions directly affect these evaluations; and what aspects should be taken into account by an organization that wants or need to develop a campaign after a disaster.

Design/methodology/approach

– This paper presents two studies examining the relationship between catastrophes and advertising in the context of the February 2010 earthquake in Chile. The first study scrutinizes the characteristics of print ads that used this event as their main theme. The second study evaluates the reactions of consumers to different types of post-catastrophe ads. This issue was explored in a survey on the attitudes toward and credibility of these ads and in a qualitative examination, which explored the reasons for the interviewees’ evaluation.

Findings

– The first study identified nine types of advertisements as the most used by advertisers. The second study showed that the most common ad types had the worst evaluations by the public. In addition, the evaluation of the ads was directly related to three dimensions: opinion with regard to the advertised brand, evaluation of the ad’s performance, and perception of commercial intent.

Research limitations/implications

– It is important to consider some limitations of this study: this paper used only print advertising, and the sample was selected from Chilean internet users (50 percent of the population).

Practical implications

– This paper provides recommendations for for-profit and non-profit organizations that need or want to effectively develop campaigns in the context of a disaster.

Originality/value

– Within the context of a few studies on the development of campaigns in the context of a catastrophe, this paper seeks to test and expand upon the scarce findings in this field.
Validation of local knowledge drought forecasting systems in the Limpopo River Basin in Southern Africa
Authors: Chisadza Bright , J. Tumbare Michael , R. Nyabeze Washington , Nhapi Innocent
Published: April 2015

Purpose

– This research paper is informed by a study to assess performance of local knowledge drought forecasts (LKDFs) in the Mzingwane catchment which is located in the Limpopo River Basin in Zimbabwe. The purpose of this paper is to validate local traditional knowledge (LTK) indicators being applied in Mzingwane catchment and verify their accuracy and reliability in drought forecasting and early warning.

Design/methodology/approach

– LTK forecast data for 2012/2013 season were collected through structured questionnaires administered to 40 selected household heads and focus group discussions. Observations and key informant interviews with chiefs and the elderly (>55 years) were also used to collect additional LTK forecast data. Meteorological data on seasonal rainfall were collected from the meteorological Services Department of Zimbabwe (MSD). Two sets of comparisons were conducted namely the hind-cast comparison where the LKDF system results were evaluated against what the season turned out to be and forecast comparison where local LKDF system results were compared with downscaled meteorological forecasts.

Findings

– The results showed that the majority of the LTK indicators used were accurate in forecasting weather and drought conditions when compared to the observed data of what the season turned out to be. LTK forecasts were found to be more accurate than meteorological forecast at local scale. This study has shown that the reliability of LTKs is high as demonstrated by the fact that the predicted event occurs.

Research limitations/implications

– Further validation be carried out for a number of seasons, in order to standardise the LTK indicators per geographical area.

Originality/value

– The research creates platform for adoption of LTKs into formal forecasting systems. The research is useful to both meteorological researchers and resource constrained communities in Mzingwane catchment.
From armed conflict to disaster vulnerability
Authors: Marktanner Marcus , Mienie Edward , Noiset Luc
Published: April 2015

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to estimate the effect of armed conflict on the vulnerability to natural hazards.

Design/methodology/approach

– The authors employ panel estimates of disaster deaths on a lagged indicator of the presence of armed conflict.

Findings

– Disaster deaths following armed conflict are on average 40 percent higher compared to disasters that are chronologically detached from armed conflict events; a legacy of armed conflict accounts for roughly 14 percent of the approximately five million disaster deaths between 1961 and 2010.

Practical implications

– A global estimate of the relationship between armed conflict and disaster vulnerability can help disaster management planners identify policy priorities associated with disaster prevention and management.

Originality/value

– The analysis reinforces the findings in previous qualitative studies of a causal link between armed conflict and increased disaster vulnerability and provides a quantitative estimate of the average magnitude of this relationship.
Human security: an analytical tool for disaster perception research
Authors: Bambals Rihards
Published: April 2015

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to examine the possible benefits arising from the application of the human security concept to analysing the disaster impacts.

Design/methodology/approach

– A three-piece human security analytical tool is synthesized by combining the discoveries in human security studies over the last two decades with the perspective of disaster studies focusing on the resilience and securitabilities of the affected societies. To illustrate the merit of the proposed analytical framework a specifically tailored social survey is used to measure the resilience of Ogre’s (Latvia) society after it faces major floods in 2013. It foresees that community’s resilience is inversely proportional to the decreases along seven human security dimensions while directly proportional to the trust to different security providers.

Findings

– The illustrative case study proves a larger deterioration of security and a wider scope of “socially affected” victims than could be identified with the field observations or document analysis. It also proves that the people in crisis situations clearly trust to themselves, friends and family, while much less to the conventional security providers or the local municipality or government. While the security is to be perceived more multi-faceted than homogenous, the results prove that the environmental and food security concerns due to the hazard climbed the fear rankings replacing the usually feared health security.

Originality/value

– The paper provides several counterarguments to the critics of Human Security concept by proving its comprehensive application to any society despite its level of development, while also offering a new analytical approach to measure the security and resilience of people facing a sudden dangerous external impact, such as a natural hazard.
Remote sensing based drought monitoring in Zimbabwe
Authors: Mutowo Godfrey , Chikodzi David
Published: April 2015

Purpose

– Drought monitoring is an important process for national agricultural and environmental planning. Droughts are normal recurring climatic phenomena that affect people and landscapes. They occur at different scales (locally, regionally, and nationally), and for periods of time ranging from weeks to decades. In Zimbabwe drought is increasingly becoming an annual phenomenon, with varying parts of the country being affected. The purpose of this paper is to analyse the spatial variations in the seasonal occurrences of drought in Zimbabwe over a period of five years.

Design/methodology/approach

– The Vegetation Condition Index (VCI), which shows how close the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index of the current time is to the minimum Normalized Difference Vegetation Index calculated from the long-term record for that given time, was used to monitor drought occurrence in Zimbabwe. A time series of dekadal Normalized Difference Vegetation Index, calculated from SPOT images, was used to compute seasonal VCI maps from 2005 to 2010. The VCI maps were then classified into three drought severity classes (severe, moderate, and mild) based on the relative changes in the vegetation condition from extremely bad to optimal.

Findings

– The results showed that droughts occur annually in Zimbabwe though, on average, the droughts are mostly mild. The occurrence and the spatial distribution of drought in Zimbabwe was also found to be random affecting different places from season to season thus the authors conclude that most parts of the country are drought prone.

Originality/value

– Remote sensing technologies utilising such indices as the VCI can be used for drought monitoring in Zimbabwe.
A model for destination strategy assessment: an analysis of Italian urban destinations
Authors: De Carlo Manuela
Published: April 2015

Purpose

– This study aims to develop and validate a scale for the assessment of the quality of the meta-management process that helps urban destinations to identify potential improvement in their strategy and possible paths to enhance destination competitiveness.

Design/methodology/approach

– In particular, through an empirical analysis of all the Italian cities with tourism certification (138 urban destinations), a model is proposed, linking specific portal functions to the achievement of six meta-management processes (product development, segment selection, customer relation management, promotion, destination image and brand management and management of distribution channels). Through a comparison with a competitive set of excellent international destinations, the study identifies priorities for competitiveness enhancement.

Findings

– The results of the study contribute to the ongoing debate on destination competitiveness and destination web site evaluation.

Originality/value

– From the managerial point of view, the model helps destination managers to control destination strategy and create consensus among all the stakeholders on the actions to achieve them.
An attempt of a crystal ball for hotels in a gaming destination, Macao
Authors: Lam Cindia Ching-Chi , Lei Clara Weng-Si
Published: April 2015

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to consider the issue of forecasting hotel room rate with data from 2004 onwards and the forecast horizons of 91 observations.

Design/methodology/approach

– This study employs a set of time series data (91 observations) on average monthly hotel room rates to generate an Autoregressive Integrated Moving Average Models (ARIMA) forecasting model.

Findings

– Through the employment of 74 percent observations, with 26 percent withhold for evaluation checking, six best models are identified from 50 models under study. The final model reports a high level of predictive accuracy and provides useful insights for hoteliers to form business strategies.

Originality/value

– This research provides a well-defined model to forecast the room rate of three-star hotels in the city. The research findings provide good ground for strategic management of the industry, in which there is an imbalance between demand and supply of hotel accommodations. In addition, being the first of its kind in one of the largest gaming revenue generation city in the world, this research provides valuable information for further research of its kind in the future.
Secondary analysis in the social sciences and its relation to futures studies
Authors: Vezzoni Cristiano
Published: April 2015

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to show the importance of secondary analysis to social sciences and to futures studies, both for research and teaching purposes.

Design/methodology/approach

– An illustration of the main characteristics of secondary analysis, presenting it as a theory-driven activity where the definition of the research design plays a fundamental role.

Findings

– This paper extends the secondary analysis approach to the study of the future. The utility of secondary analysis for futures studies is illustrated by means of the presentation of two examples developed in the field of the sociology of religion.

Originality/value

– The results are useful for those who want to develop sound and robust approaches to the study of social change, taking into consideration the simulation of possible future scenarios.
Complexity and social sciences
Authors: Birner Jack
Published: April 2015

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to give an outline of the main topics of an introductory course in complexity and social sciences.

Design/methodology/approach

– This paper consists of a survey of the main issues and some of the classical literature for an audience with no background in philosophy of science, social philosophy, the literature on complex systems and social choice.

Findings

– In the didactical framework of the article, it would be more accurate to speak of learning objectives rather than findings. The learning objectives are the acquisition of the basic knowledge for understanding the features, the possibilities and the limitations of scientific explanations and predictions and their applications in the long-term perspective of complex social systems.

Research limitations/implications

– Again, the implications are didactic. The basic knowledge that constitutes the learning objective of the course serves to give students the instruments for recognizing the main opportunities and obstacles in social forecasting.

Practical implications

– The practical implications of this paper include making students aware of complexity-related problems in their working environment and of the opportunities and constraints involved in solving them.

Social implications

– Operators who are aware of the main issues involved can contribute to a more balanced approach to social forecasting: avoiding to raise unrealistic expectations and making more efficient use of the available instruments.

Originality/value

– This paper summarizes an original combination of elements from the philosophy of science, epistemology, social philosophy and social choice.
Teaching statistics in the context of social foresight. An applied approach based on the use of an open-source software
Authors: Giuliani Diego , Dickson Maria Michela , Espa Giuseppe
Published: April 2015

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to present the contents and the didactic approach that characterize, respectively, the “Introductory Statistics with R” and “Statistics and Foresight” courses of the Master in Social Foresight.

Design/methodology/approach

– The two courses “Introductory Statistics with R” and “Statistics and Foresight” are designed to provide an introduction to quantitative methods in the social sciences with specific applications to social foresight. In particular, the first course introduces students to data analysis providing the necessary tools to study and represent socio-economic phenomena through graphical summaries and numerical measures. During the course, example applications based on the use of the open-source software R are shown. At the end, the students should be able to perform data management, conduct descriptive analysis of categorical and quantitative variables and analyze bivariate distributions. The subsequent course “Statistics and Foresight” presents the most efficient methods to make decisions in a context of uncertainty while visualizing the potential errors of wrong decisions and computing the probability of their occurrence.

Findings

– This paper is a description of an interesting and promising way of teaching applied statistics in social sciences.

Practical implications

– With the main aim of learning the correct use of statistics, specific attention is devoted to the use and interpretation of the aforementioned methods rather than to their theoretical aspects. Even in the second course, an important role is played by the treatment of real data by the use of the R software.

Originality/value

– This paper attempts to systematize a method of teaching statistics based on the practical use of open-source software.
Development of bio-active pigment printed fabric loaded with nano-sized silver/zinc particles
Authors: Tutak Mustafa , Bilget Özlem
Published: April 2015

Purpose

– This paper aims to evaluate the antibacterial properties of pigment printed fabric loaded with nano-sized silver and zinc.

Design/methodology/approach

– The pigment printing paste was mixed with nano-sized silver/zinc particles and applied to the cotton fabrics by the hand screen-printing technique. The nano-sized particles, distribution on the fabric surface, were analysed by scanning electron microscopy and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy. The ASTM E2149-01 test method was used to determine the bacteriodynamic activity of the treated fabrics. The wash and light fastness properties of the treated fabrics were investigated.

Findings

– The experimental results of the study showed that antibacterial properties could be obtained by loading with nano-size silver/zinc particles on pigment printed cotton fabrics. There is no negative or positive effect of the addition of nano silver/zinc particles to the printing paste on fastness properties.

Research limitations/implications

– The nano-sized metal particles and pigment printing paste should be well mixed to achieve uniform distribution on the printed surface.

Practical implications

– The described process marks the introduction of a nano-technological aspect to pigment printing by its application to cotton fabrics.

Originality/value

– The novelty/originality of the study lies in the new application process of nano-size silver/zinc particles to the textile pigment printing for antibacterial properties.
Enterprise systems: are we ready for future sustainable cities
Authors: Ahmad Naim , Mehmood Rashid
Published: April 2015

Purpose

– This paper aims to revisit the adoption reasons of enterprise systems (ES) and supply chain management systems (SCMS) and to explore the new dimensions of sustainability required to be added in the whole process of adoption of these systems. Moreover, it aims to explore the benefits of ES to organizations and to relate these benefits to the ES adoption in future sustainable city settings. Future cities will have micro-industries requiring dynamic interactions and will be dependent on efficient supply chains. The recent developments in information and communications technology (ICT) such as cloud computing through its dynamic, on-demand and service-based delivery are making it possible to achieve those goals for supply chains. The ES in general and more specifically SCMS have integrated organizations into one seamless mesh.

Design/methodology/approach

– This paper presents a framework for adoption of sustainable ES in a smart city setting. The framework, firstly, is presented at a macro-level, particularly incorporating the relative significance of motivational factors for sustainable ES adoption. Subsequently, The authors study the benefits of ES as perceived by large and small and medium enterprise (SME) organizations using 100 case studies and discuss how these benefits can be realized for smart cities by projecting the ES benefits onto the proposed framework. The benefits are estimated with the Shang and Seddon’s (2002) framework.

Findings

– The adoption of ES initiated with environmental factors and mediated with business and technical factors will bring benefits in all the dimensions of triple bottom line in addition to the firm’s performance. ES will have pivotal role in future smart city settings and will be able to offer social, environmental and economic sustainability in addition to traditional organizational performance indicators.

Originality/value

– The proposed framework for ES adoption will bring ES packages (particularly, the required relative significance of adoption reasons) into the perspective of sustainable development. Moreover, the study of its benefits in relation to the proposed sustainable ES adoption framework presented in this paper will help in motivating organizations to incorporate social, economic and environmental sustainability into their core business objectives.
Contraindications to Anticoagulation Therapy and Eligibility for Novel Anticoagulants in Older Patients with Atrial Fibrillation
Authors: Steinberg Benjamin A. , Greiner Melissa A. , Hammill Bradley G. , Curtis Lesley H. , Benjamin Emelia J. , Heckbert Susan R. , Piccini Jonathan P.
Published: April 2015

Aims

Oral anticoagulation therapy prevents stroke and improves survival in patients with atrial fibrillation, but the therapy is underutilized. We sought to identify the prevalence of contraindications for oral anticoagulation and the proportion of patients potentially eligible for different agents.

Methods

We identified patients with nonacute atrial fibrillation in a nationally representative 5% sample of 2009 Medicare data. We divided the population into patients ineligible for any oral anticoagulant, patients eligible for warfarin only, and patients eligible for any anticoagulant. We compared patient characteristics and the use of anticoagulation among the subgroups.

Results

Among 86,671 patients with atrial fibrillation, 1872 (2.2%) were ineligible for anticoagulation because of an absolute contraindication, most frequently a history of intracranial hemorrhage (60%). Patients ineligible for any anticoagulant were the same age as the overall group (mean age, 80.5 vs. 80.4 years). However, they had higher rates of dementia (19% vs. 8.6%) and heart failure (59% vs. 43%) and higher mean CHADS2 scores (3.8 vs. 2.8). Of the remaining 84,799 patients eligible for anticoagulation, 7146 (8.4%) were eligible for warfarin only (most commonly because of mechanical heart valves [66%] and end‐stage renal disease [12%]). Sixty‐five percent of patients eligible for anticoagulation received warfarin, and the proportion was similar for patients with a relatively high risk of bleeding.

Conclusions

Older adults with atrial fibrillation rarely have absolute contraindications to oral anticoagulation therapy. Among patients without contraindications, most appeared to be eligible for any anticoagulant, and relatively high‐risk features appeared not to influence warfarin use.
Expanding the Wilson Cycle Based on Worldwide Comparison of Continental Structures Revealed by Lithospheric Geophysical Investigations
Authors: Wencai YANG
Published: April 2015

Worldwide comparison of lithospheric investigation results achieved from projects of COCORP, BIRPS, DEKORP, LITHOPROBE, ICDP, ECORS and SINOPROBE enables us to expand the classical Wilson cycle, which mainly describes evolution of ocean plates, into a complete and detailed cycle that describes generation, development and evolution of both ocean and continent plates. The expanded Wilson cycle presented in this paper introduces the evolution sequences of continental lithospheric processes by adding into the classical Wilson cycle with ocean‐continent transition, continental collision and accretion, as well as continental rifting and splitting in details. These mentioned continental lithospheric processes have been presented by the author in a series of recent review papers in detail, and their summary and further deduction is presented in this paper.
Zircon U‐Pb Geochronology and Hf Isotopic Constraints on Petrogenesis of Plagiogranite from the Cuomuqu Ophiolite, Bangong Lake Area, North Tibet
Authors: Zhengxin YIN , Yajuan YUAN , Baofeng LÜ , Zhourong CAI , Hao ZHENG , Qiangtai HUANG , Bin XIA , Yun ZHONG , Zhongyu XIA , Xiaolong SHI , Yao GUAN
Published: April 2015

Field observation, geochemical signatures and zircon Hf isotope data indicate that Cuomuqu ophiolite in the Bangonghu area was formed in a back‐arc basin (BAB) above a supra‐subduction zone (SSZ). Zircon U‐Pb dating of the diabase from the Cuomuqu massif yielded an age of 164.3±1.9 Ma, thus indicating that the ophiolite complex was formed in the Middle Jurassic during back‐arc extension of the mature Bangonghu‐Nujiang Ocean. The zircon εHf(t) and TDMC values of the plagiogranite are similar to the εHf(t) and TDM of the diabase, respectively. The mode of occurrence of plagiogranites and their bulk‐rock and Hf isotope characteristics indicate that they were derived from the mantle, associated with the surrounding gabbro and diabase, and were formed by partial melting of altered and hydrated mafic rocks under shear conditions during lateral drifting of the oceanic crust. The zircon U‐Pb age of the plagiogranite is 156.4±1.4 Ma, and it is 7.9 Ma younger than the hosting diabase. In this study, zircon chronological and Hf isotopic data were tentatively analyzed to determine the genesis of plagiogranites in the Cuomuqu ophiolite complex.
Paleostress Reconstruction of Micangshan Anticlinorium on the Southern Margin of the Qinling Orogenic Belts, China
Authors: Jinxi LI , Zhiwu LI , Shugen LIU , Dong SUN , Bin DENG
Published: April 2015

Brittle structures in rock of different ages can be used to establish the tectonic evolution of an orogenic belt through paleostress calculations. Micangshan is located at the southern margin of the Qinling orogenic belt, between the SE‐trending Longmenshan fold‐and‐thrust belt and the arcuate Dabashan thrust‐and‐fold belt. Structural observations revealed that the dominant structures are reverse and strike‐slip faults and folds with E–W and NE–SE trends. To increase knowledge of the tectonic evolution of the Micangshan anticlinorium, faults, joints, veins, and folds were measured at more than eighty sites. On the basis of structural analysis, it emerged that the multiphase paleostress fields became established after the oblique collision between the North and South China plates. The earliest stress field with N–S compression was established during the Micangshan uplift associated with the E–W trending faults and folds. Subsequently, a N–S extension occurred when the Qinling orogenic belt collapsed. Then NW–SE compression developed, with NE trending faults and folds forming in relation to Longmenshan thrusting toward southwest on the eastern margin of the Tibetan plateau. With the development of the arcuate Dabashan orogenic belt, the compression stress orientation of the Micangshan anticlinorium altered from NE–SW to E–W.
CCA Inferred Environmental Implications of Common Ostracods on the Qinghai‐Tibetan Plateau
Authors: Gao SONG , Hailei WANG , Mianping ZHENG
Published: April 2015

103 surface sediment samples in 71 water bodies, such as lakes with different salinity, swamps, shallow puddles and rivers on the Qinghai‐Tibetan Plateau (QTP), were collected to study the ecological distribution of living ostracods and their environmental implications. Total of 12 genus and 45 species living ostracods are identified. According to the frequencies and abundance of ostracods occurrence, Limnocythere dubiosa, Limnocytherellina kunlunensis, Ilyocypris bradyi, Condona candida, Eucypris rischtanica and Leucocythere dilatata are the common species on the QTP, with occurrence frequency of more than 8 and abundance of more than 570 in the 71 water bodies. Among them, L. dubiosa, occurring in 28 water bodies with 2177 shells, is the most widely distributed ostracod in this research. Canonical Correspondence Analysis (CCA) indicates high correlation between species and environmental variables, suggesting that the occurrence of species is strongly related to the changes in ecological conditions of habitats. Among eight environmental factors, salinity and pH value are the most affective variables that influence the species occurrence. L. kunlunensis is positively correlated with salinity while E. rischtanica is negatively correlated with salinity. C. candida has a positive correlation with salinity, as does I. bradyi although there is not such a strong correlation. L. dubiosa displays a positive correlation with pH value. Consequently, we discuss the environmental implications of the common living ostracods on the QTP based on the CCA as well as the distribution of ostracod species in different salinity and pH values water. L. dubiosa, L. kunlunensis and E. rischtanica are euryhaline species, among which, L. dubiosa is the most adaptable species on the QTP with large occurrence in sundry salinity water and the most widely adaptive range for pH values. L. kunlunensis prefers to saline water while E. rischtanica prefers to fresh water. Both L. kunlunensis and E. rischtanica can live in water from faintly acid to alkaline, in contrast, L. dubiosa only appears in neutral and alkaline water bodies. I. bradyi only occurs in fresh water and oligohaline water with a large pH tolerance range tolerance range from weakly acidic water to alkaline water weakly acidic water to alkaline water. C. Candida lives in freshwater, with pH value above eight. The six common species reach maximum abundance in alkaline water (pH 8–10) except for Ilyocypris bradyi.
Association of lymphotoxin alpha polymorphism with systemic lupus erythematosus and rheumatoid arthritis: a meta‐analysis
Authors: Zhang Chao , Zhao Meng‐Qin , Liu Jie , Huang Qing , Li Peng , Ni Jing , Liang Yan , Pan Hai‐Feng , Ye Dong‐Qing
Published: April 2015

Aim

The aim of this study was to perform a meta‐analysis of eligible studies to derive precise estimation of the associations of lymphotoxin alpha (LTA) 252 A>G polymorphism (rs909253) with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and rheumatoid arthritis (RA) risk.

Method

Data were collected from the following electronic databases, including EMBASE, PubMed and China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI). A total of 19 studies (13 studies involving 1346 SLE patients and 1951 controls, six studies involving 1079 RA patients and 1057 controls) were included.

Results

This meta‐analysis showed no evidence of significant association of the A allele with SLE susceptibility (odds ratio [OR] 1.26; 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.98–1.62, P = 0.073), but it showed a weaker association under an additive model (OR 1.63, 95%CI 1.01–2.65, P = 0.047). Stratification by ethnicity indicated that the variant A allele carriers increased the risk of SLE in Asians (OR 1.91, 95%CI 1.44–2.53, P < 0.001). However, we failed to reveal any association between LTA gene 252 A>G polymorphism and RA risk under all models (for A vs. G: OR 1.02, 95%CI 0.79–1.33, P = 0.853; for AA + AG vs. GG: OR 0.86, 95%CI 0.52–1.41, P = 0.542; for AA vs. AG + GG: OR 1.19, 95%CI 0.80–1.78, P = 0.394, for AA vs. GG: OR 1.03, 95%CI 0.58–1.84, P = 0.919). Similar results were obtained in the subgroup analysis based on ethnicity.

Conclusion

The present study suggests that LTA 252 A>G polymorphism is associated with SLE susceptibility in Asians, and there is no significant association between LTA 252 A>G polymorphism and RA.
Beyond remittance: Evading uselessness and seeking personhood in Fouta Djallon, Guinea
Authors: FIORATTA SUSANNA
Published: April 2015

Remittance networks built through transnational migration have transformed local economies as well as social lives in many parts of the world. In this article, I examine the relationship between transnational migration and local business practices for ethnic Fulɓe people of the Fouta Djallon highlands of Guinea. Although some Fouta Djallon residents have withstood poverty with the help of remittances from migrant relatives, many migrants fail to earn money abroad. Although it seldom leads to economic success, migration remains a popular undertaking, especially for young men. Meanwhile, nonmigrants engage in small business projects that yield little or no income. Analyzing informants’ critiques of “uselessness,” I argue that both risky migration quests and seemingly irrational business practices are fueled by a common desire to achieve social personhood under adverse structural conditions. Apparent striving for success mitigates failure to send or earn money even while reproducing ideals of mobility and entrepreneurship in responsible personhood.