bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Ravidās
Authors: Friedlander Peter
Published: September 2019

Ravidās (also known as Raidās or Rohidās) was a North Indian poet-saint from an untouchable leather-working community who lived during the 16th century. He is remembered in India as an outstanding poet-saint whose religious devotion was expressed in verses and who lived a life dedicated to his devotion to the religious rights of his community. The precise dates and exact locations of his birth and death are uncertain, and suggested dates range from around 1376 for his birth to as late as 1540 for his death. However, there is general agreement that he lived most of his life in or around the city of Varanasi in North India, and there is universal agreement that he was a leading figure among the untouchable leather-working communities of that era. He is particularly renowned for having attained fame as a devotee of the divine who argued that birth in a low community had no bearing on the right to freely practice religion, and that a low-status birth was no impediment to attaining spiritual liberation. The songs and verses he composed became part of North Indian oral traditions by the middle of the 16th century and were then written down in various canons of vernacular works by poet-saints in North India. The earliest written versions of his compositions were collected by followers of the Sikh tradition in roughly the 1570s in the Punjab, along with the works of other famous poet-saints and incorporated into the Adi Granth in 1603–1604. In Rajasthan his compositions were also written down from the early 17th century in a variety of devotional traditions and often formed part of collections of verses by Dādū, Kabīr, Nāmdev, Ravidās, and Haridās. It was also at this time that accounts of the lives of famous saints began to be composed, including Ravidās along with other poet-saints. In a renaissance of the followers of Ravidās in the early 20th century, numerous print traditions related to Ravidās began to appear. Prominent among these works were narrative accounts of his life called Ravidās Rāmāyaṇa and a succession of new anthologies of his compositions, as well as studies of his life and his social significance. This development has continued to this day and now includes works in not only vernaculars such as Hindi and Punjabi and other languages, but also an increasing number of English-language studies of his life and works.
The Prague Linguistic Circle
Authors: Graffi Giorgio
Published: September 2019

The Prague linguistic circle was founded in 1926 by Vilém Mathesius (b. 1882–d. 1945), professor of Anglistics at the Charles University of Prague, who acted as its president until his death. Other members of the circle were the Russian Roman Jakobson (b. 1896–d. 1982) and the Czechs Bohuslav Havránek (b. 1893–d. 1978) and Bohumil Trnka (b. 1895–d. 1984), the latter its first secretary. Among the foreign members, those most connected with the circle were the Russian Sergej Karcevskij (b. 1884–d. 1955), a former student of Ferdinand de Saussure’s and Charles Bally’s in Geneva, and Nikolai S. Trubetzkoy (also transliterated as Troubetzkoy or Trubeckoj; b. 1890–d. 1938), professor at the University of Vienna. About Trubetzkoy and his work, see the separate Oxford Bibliographies in Linguistics article “Nikolai Trubetzkoy.” Several other linguists were also in close contact with the Prague circle: for example, the Dutchman Albert Willem de Groot (b. 1892–d. 1963) or the Frenchmen Lucien Tesnière (b. 1893–d. 1954) and André Martinet (b. 1908–d. 1999). Two younger Czech members of the circle were Vladimir Skalička (b. 1909–d. 1991) and Josef Vachek (b. 1909–d. 1996), the latter of whom became the first historiographer of the circle. The Prague linguists also held mutual relationships with other scholars, among whom Karl Bühler (b. 1879–d. 1963), professor of psychology at the University of Vienna. Prague circle members also devoted much attention to the problem of literary and poetic language; the most-outstanding contributions in this field are by Jan Mukařovský (b. 1891–d. 1975). The “golden age” (or “classical period”) of the Prague linguistic circle ended in 1939, after Nazi invasion of Czechoslovakia. The activity of the circle did not completely stop even during war years (1939–1945), but it was severely hindered after 1948, when it was charged as being of a “bourgeois” character by the Communist regime. The circle virtually ceased to operate in 1952, without formally dissolving. Some of its research topics have been renewed since the 1960s by its original members still living in Czechoslovakia, and by a new generation of scholars. The circle was restored in 1990 and is still active. Prague linguists (often also labeled “Prague linguistic school” or just “Prague school”) are normally considered as the initiators of linguistic functionalism; namely, of the attempt to explain the structures of language on the basis of its function as a means of communication. This article almost exclusively refers to the “classical” period of the activity of the circle, only occasionally mentioning the subsequent years. The first sections list and describe the “programmatic” works by the Prague linguists; the following sections present their contributions to the general theory of language and to specific linguistic domains (phonology, syntax, etc.), and the final sections deal with the critical literature on the Prague school.
Disgust
Authors: Linford Daniel , Parker Mallory , Kelly Daniel
Published: September 2019

Research on disgust connects to a surprisingly large variety of topics across the behavioral sciences and humanities. It serves as a case study in debates about the nature of emotions themselves, their relationship to cognition and affect, whether and how much they might be innately constrained or socially constructed, which parts might be universal (and uniquely) human, and which can vary across cultures and eras, malleable in the face of diverse social influences. These questions have been addressed by researchers using a number of approaches. Developmental psychologists have been piecing together the typical ontogenetic trajectory of disgust, the emergence of its different components during childhood and adolescence, and its progression from being mostly concerned with brute physical food- and body-based cues to becoming increasingly alert to and involved in social dynamics. Evolutionarily oriented researchers have sought to identify the primary and secondary functions of disgust, the biological and cultural adaptive challenges they were selected to help solve, and the character of the facial expressions that help transmit information relevant to solving them. As always, research on brain function as well as typical patterns of dysfunction, breakdown, and involvement with mental disorder sheds light on all of these questions. Much research has focused on investigating the variety of domains in which disgust appears to operate, ranging from food regulation to disease avoidance to sexual activity and mate selection. Researchers continue to debate the differences and similarities between episodes of disgust that are provoked by elicitors from each these different domains. Disgust operates in the moral and aesthetic domains as well, imbuing a class of norms with its singular phenomenology and motivational force, the effects and implications of which have been investigated and debated by psychologists, anthropologists, and philosophers. Some argue that disgust does and should play important roles in Morality, moral judgment, and moral justification. Others are skeptical, arguing that ideally disgust would be completely absent from morality, and that we should aspire to minimize its role in moral judgments and social institutions. Another form of skepticism takes issue with the descriptive claims and empirical evidence itself, questioning whether the effects of disgust on moral judgment are as large and systematic as asserted, with some questioning whether what appears to be influencing moral judgments is genuinely disgust at all, or whether talk of ‘moral disgust’ is merely metaphorical. These areas of research are connected to recent work on disgust and politics, and how a person’s political orientation relates to disgust sensitivity, norm cognition, and their conception of the content and boundaries of the moral domain. Aestheticians have also taken an interest in disgust and the way artists have used it to evoke characteristic response in their audiences.
Association Between Geographic Measures of Socioeconomic Status and Deprivation and Major Surgical Outcomes
Authors: Crawford Sara , Schold Jesse
Published: September 2019

Background:

There is evidence suggesting higher rates of negative surgical outcomes for patients with lower socioeconomic status.

Objective:

The objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of different geographic measures of socioeconomic status and deprivation on surgical outcomes in the United States.

Research Design:

We extracted county-level, zip code-level, census block group-level and census tract-level measures of geographic risk. We evaluated associations between geographic area inequity and surgical outcomes using linear, logistic, and Poisson regression with generalized estimating equations to account for clustering by hospital.

Subjects:

Hospital discharges (n=1,573,740) after major surgery in Arizona, Florida, Iowa, Michigan, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, and Vermont as extracted from the Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project (HCUP) State Inpatient Database between the years 2010–2012.

Measures:

Inpatient mortality, length of stay, hospital costs, discharge status, and 30-day all-cause readmission.

Results:

After adjusting for patient, hospital, and discharge factors, the odds of inpatient mortality significantly increased as geographic distress increased across all measures of geographic risk. Odds of routine discharge increased and the odds of 30-day all-cause readmission decreased with geographic distress for select measures of geographic inequity. The choice of measure generally did not affect the findings; the results did not conclusively support the use of measures from larger or smaller geographic units.

Conclusions:

There is a consistent, strong association between geographic indicators for socioeconomic status and distress with important surgical outcomes. Further work is needed to understand the source of these associations and to develop interventions and effective policies to address them.
Total Versus Near-total Thyroidectomy in Graves Disease
Authors: Maurer Elisabeth , Maschuw Katja , Reuss Alexander , Zieren Hans Udo , Zielke Andreas , Goretzki Peter , Simon Dietmar , Dotzenrath Cornelia , Steinmüller Thomas , Jähne Joachim , Kemen Matthias , Coerper Stephan , Leister Ingo , Nies Christoph , Hartel Mark , Türler Andreas , Holzer Katharina , Agha Ayman , Knoop Michael , Musholt Thomas , Aminossadati Benaz , Bartsch Detlef K.
Published: September 2019

Background:

Previous data suggest that the incidence of hypoparathyroidism after surgery for Graves disease (GD) is lower after subtotal thyroidectomy compared to total thyroidectomy (TT). The present study evaluated the incidence of postoperative hypoparathyroidism after near-total (NTT) versus TT in GD.

Methods/Design:

In a multicenter prospective randomized controlled clinical trial, patients with GD were randomized intraoperatively to NTT or TT. Primary endpoint was the incidence of transient postoperative hypoparathyroidism. Secondary endpoints were permanent hypoparathyroidism, transient recurrent laryngeal nerve palsy (RLNP), reoperations for bleeding, inadvertently removed parathyroid glands, and recurrent hyperthyroidism after 12 months.

Results:

Eighteen centers randomized 205 patients to either TT (n = 102) or NTT (n = 103) within 16 months. According to intention-to-treat postoperative transient hypoparathyroidism occurred in 19% (20/103) patients after NTT and in 21% (21 of 102) patients after TT (P= 0.84), which persisted >6 months in 2% and 5% of the NTT and TT groups (P= 0.34). The rates of parathyroid autotransplantation (NTT 24% vs TT 28%,P= 0.50) and transient RLNP (NTT 3% vs TT 4%,P= 0.35) was similar in both groups. The rate of reoperations for bleeding tended to be higher in the NTT group (3% vs 0%,P= 0.07) and the rate of inadvertently removed parathyroid glands was significantly higher after NTT (13% vs 3%,P= 0.01). An existing endocrine orbitopathy improved in 35% and 24% after NTT and TT (P= 0.61). Recurrent disease occurred in only 1 patient after TT (P= 0.34).

Conclusion:

NTT for GD is not superior to TT regarding transient postoperative hypoparathyroidism.
Exercise factors as potential mediators of cognitive rehabilitation following traumatic brain injury
Authors: Stephan Joseph S. , Sleiman Sama F.
Published: September 2019

Purpose of review

To summarize what is known about how exercise mediates cognitive rehabilitation post traumatic brain injury (TBI).

Recent findings

TBI is a devastating condition that leads to cognitive, motor and social deficits with significant social and economic burdens. Physical exercise has been shown to mediate cognitive rehabilitation post-TBI. The therapeutic effects of exercise are related in part to its ability to increase brain-derived neurotrophic factor (Bdnf) expression in the hippocampus. However, we have only recently begun to understand how exercise inducesBdnfexpression in the brain through the identification of peripheral exercise factors. In this review, we will discuss the literature describing the various known exercise factors and we will assess their potential role in TBI.

The reviewed literature makes a strong case that exercise has important protective roles post-TBI. It also highlights the relevance and role of peripheral exercise factors, such as lactate and beta-hydroxybutyrate in mediating beneficial effects of exercise on cognition. Studying exercise factors in the context of injury will likely contribute to better therapeutic strategies for TBI.
Common statistical patterns in urban terrorism
Authors: Guo Weisi
Published: September 2019

The underlying reasons behind modern terrorism are seemingly complex and intangible. Despite diverse causal mechanisms, research has shown that there exists general statistical patterns at the global scale that can shed light on human confrontation behaviour. While many policing and counter-terrorism operations are conducted at a city level, there has been a lack of research in building city-level resolution prediction engines based on statistical patterns. For the first time, the paper shows that there exist general commonalities between global cities under frequent terrorist attacks. By examining over 30 000 geo-tagged terrorism acts over 7000 cities worldwide from 2002 to today, the results show the following. All cities experience attacksAthat are uncorrelated to the population and separated by a time intervaltthat is negative exponentially distributed with a death-toll per attack that follows a power-law distribution. The prediction parameters yield a high confidence of explaining up to 87% of the variations in frequency and 89% in the death-toll data. These findings show that the aggregate statistical behaviour of terror attacks are seemingly random and memoryless for all global cities. They enabled the author to develop a data-driven city-specific prediction system, and we quantify its information-theoretic uncertainty and information loss. Further analysis shows that there appears to be an increase in the uncertainty over the predictability of attacks, challenging our ability to develop effective counter-terrorism capabilities.
Resonances in the response of fluidic networks inherent to the cooperation between elasticity and bifurcations
Authors: Yáñez Diana , Travasso Rui D. M. , Corvera Poiré Eugenia
Published: September 2019

A global response function (GRF) of an elastic network is introduced as a generalization of the response function (RF) of a rigid network, relating the average flow along the network with the pressure difference at its extremes. The GRF can be used to explore the frequency behaviour of a fluid confined in a tree-like symmetric elastic network in which vessels bifurcate into identical vessels. We study such dynamic response for elastic vessel networks containing viscous fluids. We find that the bifurcation structure, inherent to tree-like networks, qualitatively changes the dynamic response of a single elastic vessel, and gives resonances at certain frequencies. This implies that the average flow throughout the network could be enhanced if the pulsatile forcing at the network’s inlet were imposed at the resonant frequencies. The resonant behaviour comes from the cooperation between the bifurcation structure and the elasticity of the network, since the GRF has no resonances either for a single elastic vessel or for a rigid network. We have found that resonances shift to high frequencies as the system becomes more rigid. We have studied two different symmetric tree-like network morphologies and found that, while many features are independent of network morphology, particular details of the response are morphology dependent. Our results could have applications to some biophysical networks, for which the morphology could be approximated to a tree-like symmetric structure and a constant pressure at the outlet. The GRF for these networks is a characteristic of the system fluid-network, being independent of the dynamic flow (or pressure) at the network’s inlet. It might therefore represent a good quantity to differentiate healthy vasculatures from those with a medical condition. Our results could also be experimentally relevant in the design of networks engraved in microdevices, since the limit of the rigid case is almost impossible to attain with the materials used in microfluidics and the condition of constant pressure at the outlet is often given by the atmospheric pressure.
Nonlinear dynamic model upgrading and updating using sine-sweep vibration data
Authors: Dossogne T. , Masset L. , Peeters B. , Noël J. P.
Published: September 2019

Dynamic modelling is a core activity in mechanical engineering towards supporting system and control design. It is typically carried out in a computational environment, involving idealizing assumptions of diverse kinds. The most notable assumption commonly adopted in the field is the excitation-to-response linearity of the mechanical vibrations. This common practice contrasts with the day-to-day experience of test engineers, who are ever more confronted with nonlinearities when dynamically testing modern mechanical structures. A nonlinear behaviour may result from various physical mechanisms, the most recurrent being the existence of dynamic boundary conditions in the direct vicinity of structural joints and interfaces. In this paper, a coherent set of techniques is described to locate, characterize and model nonlinearities using sine-sweep vibration data, with the purpose of upgrading a pre-existing linear numerical model into a reliable nonlinear one. A constant thread in this set of techniques is the analysis of sensor measurements in phase space. The presented tools are illustrated using acceleration time histories measured at multiple forcing amplitudes on a full-scale F-16 aircraft. Nonlinear stiffness and damping elements, modelling a loosened attachment at one of the aircraft wing tips, are identified and introduced in a linear finite-element model, leading to accurate response predictions in a strongly nonlinear regime of motion.
Dynamics of a dipole in a stationary electromagnetic field
Authors: Maciejewski Andrzej J. , Przybylska Maria , Yaremko Yurij
Published: September 2019

The non-relativistic dynamics of an electric dipole in a uniform and stationary electromagnetic field is considered. The equations of motion are derived
ab initio
. It is shown that they are Hamiltonian with respect to a certain degenerated Poisson structure. The system has a ‘hidden’ symmetry which allows its dimension to be reduced. The reduced system is also Hamiltonian with respect to a degenerated Poisson structure. We show how to perform this reduction in the framework of the Lagrange formalism. Integrability of the reduced system is investigated. It was proved that the system is non-integrable except for two cases when, for specific values of parameters, the system admits an additional first integral.
Dynamics of droplet impingement on bioinspired surface: insights into spreading, anomalous stickiness and break-up
Authors: Roy Durbar , Pandey Khushboo , Banik Meneka , Mukherjee Rabibrata , Basu Saptarshi
Published: September 2019

Inspired by the self-cleaning ability of lotus leaves and stickiness (towards water) of rose petals, we investigate the droplet impact dynamics on such bioinspired substrates. Impact studies are carried out with water droplets for a range of impact velocities on glass, PDMS and soft lithographically fabricated replicas of the lotus leaf and rose petals, which exhibit near identical wetting properties as that of the original biological entities. In this work, we investigate the spreading, dewetting and droplet break-up mechanisms subsequent to impact. Surprisingly, the rose petal and lotus leaf replicas manifest similar impact dynamics. The observation is extremely intriguing and counterintuitive, as rose petal and its replicas are sticky in contrast to lotus leaves. However, these observations are based on experiments performed with sessile water droplets. By contrast, in the current study, we find that rose petal replicas exhibit non-sticky behaviour at the short time scale

∼
(
O
(

10

−
3

)
)

 s similar to that exhibited by lotus leaf replicas. Air entrapment in the micrometre features of bioinspired surfaces prevent frictional dissipation of droplet kinetic energy, leading to contact edge recession. We have also unveiled interesting universal physics that govern the spreading, recession of the contact edge and subsequent break-up modes (ligament or bulb-ligament) of the droplet.
Omnidirectional flexural invisibility of multiple interacting voids in vibrating elastic plates
Authors: Misseroni D. , Movchan A. B. , Bigoni D.
Published: September 2019

In elasticity, the design of a cloaking for an inclusion or a void to leave a vibrational field unperturbed by its presence, so to achieve its invisibility, is a thoroughly analysed, but still unchallenged, mechanical problem. The ‘cloaking transformation’ concept, originally developed in electromagnetism and optics, is not directly applicable to elastic waves, displaying a complex vectorial nature. Consequently, all examples of elastic cloaking presented so far involve complex design and thick coating skins. These cloakings often work only for problems of unidirectional propagation, within narrow ranges of frequency, and considering only one cloaked object. Here, a new method based on the concept of reinforcement, achieved via elastic stiffening and mass redistribution, is introduced to cloak multiple voids in an elastic plate. This simple technique produces invisibility of the voids to flexural waves within an extremely broad range of frequencies and thus surpassing in many aspects all existing cloaking techniques. The proposed design principle is applicable in mechanical problems ranging from the micro-scale to the scale of civil engineering. For instance, our results show how to design a perforated load-bearing building wall, vibrating during an earthquake exactly as the same wall, but unperforated, a new finding for seismic protection.
Plant-mediated interactions between a vector and a non-vector herbivore promote the spread of a plant virus
Authors: Chisholm Paul J. , Eigenbrode Sanford D. , Clark Robert E. , Basu Saumik , Crowder David W.
Published: September 2019

Herbivores that transmit plant pathogens often share hosts with non-vector herbivores. These co-occurring herbivores can affect vector fitness and behaviour through competition and by altering host plant quality. However, few studies have examined how such interactions may both directly and indirectly influence the spread of a plant pathogen. Here, we conducted field and greenhouse trials to assess whether a defoliating herbivore (
Sitona lineatus
) mediated the spread of a plant pathogen,
Pea enation mosaic virus
(PEMV), by affecting the fitness and behaviour of
Acrythosiphon pisum
, the PEMV vector. We observed higher rates of PEMV spread when infectious
A. pisum
individuals shared hosts with
S. lineatus
individuals. Using structural equation models, we showed that herbivory from
S. lineatus
increased
A. pisum
fitness, which stimulated vector movement and PEMV spread. Moreover, plant susceptibility to PEMV was indirectly enhanced by
S. lineatus
, which displaced
A. pisum
individuals to the most susceptible parts of the plant. Subsequent analyses of plant defence genes revealed considerable differences in plant phytohormones associated with anti-herbivore and anti-pathogen defence when
S. lineatus
was present. Given that vectors interact with non-vector herbivores in natural and managed ecosystems, characterizing how such interactions affect pathogens would greatly enhance our understanding of disease ecology.
Trophic interactions drive the emergence of diel vertical migration patterns: a game-theoretic model of copepod communities
Authors: Pinti Jérôme , Kiørboe Thomas , Thygesen Uffe H. , Visser André W.
Published: September 2019

Diel vertical migration (DVM), the daily movement of organisms through oceanic water columns, is mainly driven by spatio-temporal variations in the light affecting the intensity of predator–prey interactions. Migration patterns of an organism are intrinsically linked to the distribution of its conspecifics, its prey and its predators, each with their own fitness-seeking imperatives. We present a mechanistic, trait-based model of DVM for the different components of a pelagic community. Specifically, we consider size, sensory mode and feeding mode as key traits, representing a community of copepods that prey on each other and are, in turn, preyed upon by fish. Using game-theoretic principles, we explore the optimal distribution of the main groups of a planktonic pelagic food web simultaneously. Within one single framework, our model reproduces a whole suite of observed patterns, such as size-dependent DVM patterns of copepods and reverse migrations. These patterns can only be reproduced when different trophic levels are considered at the same time. This study facilitates a quantitative understanding of the drivers of DVM, and is an important step towards mechanistically underpinned predictions of DVM patterns and biologically mediated carbon export.
Host genetic diversity limits parasite success beyond agricultural systems: a meta-analysis
Authors: Ekroth Alice K. E. , Rafaluk-Mohr Charlotte , King Kayla C.
Published: September 2019

There is evidence that human activities are reducing the population genetic diversity of species worldwide. Given the prediction that parasites better exploit genetically homogeneous host populations, many species could be vulnerable to disease outbreaks. While agricultural studies have shown the devastating effects of infectious disease in crop monocultures, the widespread nature of this diversity–disease relationship remains unclear in natural systems. Here, we provide broad support that high population genetic diversity can protect against infectious disease by conducting a meta-analysis of 23 studies, with a total of 67 effect sizes. We found that parasite functional group (micro- or macroparasite) affects the presence of the effect and study setting (field or laboratory-based environment) influences the magnitude. Our study also suggests that host genetic diversity is overall a robust defence against infection regardless of host reproduction, parasite host range, parasite diversity, virulence and the method by which parasite success was recorded. Combined, these results highlight the importance of monitoring declines of host population genetic diversity as shifts in parasite distributions could have devastating effects on at-risk populations in nature.
Towards accurate and unbiased imaging based differentiation of Parkinson’s Disease, Progressive Supranuclear Palsy and Corticobasal Syndrome
Authors: Correia Marta M , Rittman Tim , Barnes Christopher L , Coyle-Gilchrist Ian T , Ghosh Boyd , Hughes Laura E , Rowe James B
Published: September 2019

The early and accurate differential diagnosis of parkinsonian disorders is still a significant challenge for clinicians. In recent years, a number of studies have used MRI data combined with machine learning and statistical classifiers to successfully differentiate between different forms of Parkinsonism. However, several questions and methodological issues remain, to minimise bias and artefact-driven classification. In this study we compared different approaches for feature selection, as well as different MRI modalities, with well matched patient groups and tightly controlling for data quality issues related to patient motion.

Our sample was drawn from a cohort of 69 healthy controls, and patients with idiopathic Parkinson’s disease (n=35, PD), Progressive Supranuclear Palsy Richardson’s syndrome (n=52, PSP) and corticobasal syndrome (n=36, CBS). Participants underwent standardised T1-weighted MPRAGE and diffusion-weighted MRI. We compared two different methods for feature selection and dimensionality reduction: whole-brain principal components analysis, and an anatomical region-of-interest based approach. In both cases, support vector machines were used to construct a statistical model for pairwise classification of healthy controls and patients. The accuracy of each model was estimated using a leave-two-out cross-validation approach, as well as an independent validation using a different set of subjects.

Our cross-validation results suggest that using principal components analysis (PCA) for feature extraction provides higher classification accuracies when compared to a region-of-interest based approach. However, the differences between the two feature extraction methods were significantly reduced when an independent sample was used for validation, suggesting that the principal components analysis approach may be more vulnerable to overfitting with cross-validation. Both T1-weighted and diffusion MRI data could be used to successfully differentiate between subject groups, with neither modality outperforming the other across all pairwise comparisons in the cross-validation analysis. However, features obtained from diffusion MRI data resulted in significantly higher classification accuracies when an independent validation cohort was used.

Overall, our results support the use of statistical classification approaches for differential diagnosis of parkinsonian disorders. However, classification accuracy can be affected by group size, age, sex and movement artifacts. With appropriate controls and out-of-sample cross validation, diagnostic biomarker evaluation including MRI based classifiers can be an important adjunct to clinical evaluation.
The impact of marketing innovation on companies’ environmental orientation
Authors: Medrano Natalia , Cornejo-Cañamares María , Olarte-Pascual Cristina
Published: September 2019

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to explore the relationship between companies’ marketing innovation and environmental orientation and to determine how this relationship differs between manufacturing and service companies.

Design/methodology/approach

The study uses secondary data from the Technological Innovation Panel (PITEC) to look at 6,435 Spanish companies during the 2013-2015 period. To examine the contingency effect of the activity sector, the sample is divided into two subsamples: manufacturing companies and service companies. Partial least squares path modeling is used to test and validate the research model and proposed hypotheses.

Findings

The results show there is a statistically significant negative relationship between marketing innovation and environmental orientation. Significant differences were also found between manufacturing and service companies depending on the companies’ activity sector and size.

Practical implications

The analyzed manufacturing and service companies still use traditional marketing and have yet to embrace the “green marketing” or “marketing 3.0” concept. The marketing innovations a company undertakes should be positively, rather than negatively, related to its environmental orientation. In today’s companies, the two actions must go hand in hand.

Originality/value

Most studies on environmental orientation have focused on its relationship with technological innovation. In this sense, it is important to analyze its relationship with marketing innovation as well, as nowadays, when consumers are deciding between different companies’ products, they look for “companies with values.” Companies thus need to engage in environmentally oriented marketing innovation.
Integration of UTAUT model in internet banking adoption context
Authors: Rahi Samar , Othman Mansour Majeed Mustafa , Alghizzawi Mahmoud , Alnaser Feras Mi
Published: September 2019

Purpose

Technology acceptance, especially internet banking adoption, has become a vital issue in the business world today. The potential of this technology is enormous. The purpose of this study is to ascertain determinants of internet banking adoption using unified theory of acceptance and use of technology (UTAUT) and electronic service (e-service) quality, which accounts for changes in user’s intention to adopt internet banking.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors collected data from customers of commercial banks using structured questionnaires. The data were collected in four weeks in the beginning of September 2017. A two-stage approach of confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) and structural equation modeling (SEM) were used for data analysis.

Findings

The results reveal that integrated UTAUT model had significant influence on user intention to adopt internet banking. Findings of the SEM indicated that approximately 80 per cent of the variance in user intention to adopt internet banking was accounted by predictors. The study schematized that assurance is the most influential factor among all other technology and service quality factors. Additionally, performance expectancy and effort expectancy were found to be positive and significant mediator variables among website design, customer service and customer’s intention to adopt internet banking.

Practical implications

It is recommended that both website designers and managers should focus on technology and service quality factors to boost the confidence of internet banking users. Importance performance matrix analysis suggested that managers should provide assurance to internet banking users, so that they could maintain a long-term relationship with internet banking services. The study calls researchers to test the integrated UTAUT model in other electronic commerce (e-commerce) domains such as online booking or online shopping websites.

Originality/value

To the best of author’s knowledge, this study is the first that extend the UTAUT model with four e-service quality dimensions, namely, website design, customer service, assurance and reliability to investigate user’s intention to adopt internet banking in developing country context of Pakistan. More importantly, the mediating role of performance expectancy and effort expectancy is examined first time within integrated UTAUT model. Furthermore, the integration of UTAUT model contributes to the advancement of internet banking acceptance and offers useful insights to researchers and policy-makers on how to enhance internet banking acceptance among customers of commercial banks.
Technology environment and crowdfunding platforms in Brazil
Authors: Lima Afonso , Araújo Francisco Fabiano Mapurunga
Published: September 2019

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to analyze the influence of the technological segment of the general environment in crowdfunding platforms’ operations in Brazil.

Design/methodology/approach

By means of a qualitative and exploratory approach, the research comprised the execution of a panel of experts via semi-structured interview scripts. For the data analysis, a content analysis with the software NVivo 9 was conducted.

Findings

One of the main results concerning this influence in the industry would be the expansion of internet access as key factor to scalability of operations and the use of analytics for developing markets. In addition, the cultural aspect emerges as facilitator for platforms access, thus the influence of technological segment cannot be analyzed without considering the cultural segment of the general environment.

Research limitations/implications

Research limitations relate to the qualitative approach; although valuable insights were obtained for strategic policy in crowdfunding platforms, generalization is not possible. Moreover, the limited number of experts in the panel who agreed to participate may have been an obstacle for richer results.

Practical implications

Among some implications to the strategic management of crowdfunding platforms in the country are investment prioritization in analytics, governance and transparency of operations and marketing. Analytics will enable more effective insertion in supporting communities and better selection strategies of projects with attributes of success; governance and marketing will aid platforms to reduce cultural resistance on the part of the potential users.

Social implications

Regulations regarding crowdfunding platforms as well as socio-cultural segment of the strategic environment are key aspects in fostering co-creation among participants and in bringing scale to crowdfunding operations; they may be mediated by technology. Thus, analytics along with marketing initiatives related to addressing shared practices in communities will have a significant impact on the adoption of crowdfunding. Furthermore, such task should be more intense than in developed economies where internet infrastructure and quality access are widespread.

Originality/value

Although various contributions have been made to the theme of crowdfunding, there has not been identified any paper addressing future influences of the strategic general environment, such as the technological segment, to the operations of crowdfunding platforms, especially in the Brazilian context.
How neighbourhood interactions control the temporal stability and resilience to drought of trees in mountain forests
Authors: Jourdan Marion , Kunstler Georges , Morin Xavier
Published: September 2019

Over the coming decades, the predicted increase in frequency and intensity of extreme events such as droughts is likely to have a strong effect on forest functioning. Recent studies have shown that species mixing may buffer the temporal variability of productivity. However, most studies have focused on temporal stability of productivity, while species mixing may also affect forest resilience to extreme events. Our understanding of mechanisms underlying species mixing effects on forest stability and resilience remains limited because we ignore how changes from intraspecific to interspecific interactions in the neighbourhood of a given tree might affect its stability and resilience to extreme drought (i.e. response during and after this drought). This is crucial to better understand forests’ response to climate change and how diversity may help maintain forest functioning.

Here we analysed how local intra‐ or interspecific interactions may affect the temporal stability and resilience to drought of individual trees in French mountain forests, using basal area increment data over the previous 20 years for Fagus sylvatica, Abies alba and Quercus pubescens. We analysed the effect of interspecific competition on (a) the temporal stability and (b) the resilience to drought (resistance and recovery) of individual tree radial growth.

We found no significant interspecific competition effect on temporal stability, but species‐specific effects on tree growth resilience to drought. There was a positive effect of heterospecific proportion on the drought resilience of Q. pubescens, a negative effect for A. alba and no effect for F. sylvatica. These differences may be related to interspecific differences in water use or rooting depth.

Synthesis: In this study, we showed that stand composition influences individual tree growth resilience to drought, but this effect varied depending on the species and its physiological responses. Our study also highlighted that a lack of biodiversity effect on long‐term stability might hide important effects on short‐term resilience to extreme climatic events. This may have important implications in the face of climate change.
Preparation and Characterization of Quercetin‐Loaded Zein Nanoparticles by Electrospraying and Study of In Vitro Bioavailability
Authors: Rodríguez‐Félix Francisco , Del‐Toro‐Sánchez Carmen Lizette , Javier Cinco‐Moroyoqui Francisco , Juárez Josué , Ruiz‐Cruz Saúl , López‐Ahumada Guadalupe Amanda , Carvajal‐Millan Elizabeth , Castro‐Enríquez Daniela Denisse , Barreras‐Urbina Carlos Gregorio , Tapia‐Hernández José Agustín
Published: September 2019

Quercetin is a hydrophobic flavonoid with high antioxidant activity. However, for biological applications, the bioavailability of quercetin is low due to physiological barriers. For this reason, an alternative is the protection of quercetin in matrices of biopolymers as zein. The objective of this work was to prepare and characterize quercetin‐loaded zein nanoparticles by electrospraying and its study of in vitro bioavailability. The physicochemical parameters such as viscosity, density, and electrical conductivity of zein solutions showed a dependence of the ethanol concentration. In addition, rheological parameters demonstrated that solutions of zein in aqueous ethanol present Newtonian behavior, rebounding in the formation of nanoparticles by electrospraying, providing spherical, homogeneous, and compact morphologies, mainly at a concentration of 80% (v/v) of ethanol and of 5% (w/v) of zein. The size and shape of quercetin‐loaded zein nanoparticles were studied by transmission electron microscopy (TEM), observing that it was entrapped, distributed throughout the nanoparticle of zein. Analysis by Fourier transform‐infrared (FT‐IR) of zein nanoparticles loaded with quercetin revealed interactions via hydrogen bonds. The efficacy of zein nanoparticles to entrap quercetin was particularly high for all quercetin concentration evaluated in this work (87.9 ± 1.5% to 93.0 ± 2.6%). The in vitro gastrointestinal release of trapped quercetin after 240 min was 79.1%, while that for free quercetin was 99.2%. The in vitro bioavailability was higher for trapped quercetin (5.9%) compared to free quercetin (1.9%), than of gastrointestinal digestion. It is concluded, that the electrospraying technique made possible the obtention of quercitin‐loaded zein nanoparticles increasing their bioavailability.

Practical Application

This type of nanosystems can be used in the food and pharmaceutical industry. Quercetin‐loaded zein nanoparticles for its improvement compared to free quercetin can be used to decrease the prevalence of chronic degenerative diseases by increasing of the bioavailability of quercetin in the bloodstream. Other application can be as an antioxidant system in functional foods or oils to increase shelf life.
Terrestrial N2O emissions and related functional genes under climate change: A global meta‐analysis
Authors: Li Linfeng , Zheng Zhenzhen , Wang Weijin , Biederman Joel A. , Xu Xingliang , Ran Qinwei , Qian Ruyan , Xu Cong , Zhang Biao , Wang Fang , Zhou Shutong , Cui Lizhen , Che Rongxiao , Hao Yanbin , Cui Xiaoyong , Xu Zhihong , Wang Yanfen
Published: September 2019

Nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions from soil contribute to global warming and are in turn substantially affected by climate change. However, climate change impacts on N2O production across terrestrial ecosystems remain poorly understood. Here, we synthesized 46 published studies of N2O fluxes and relevant soil functional genes (SFGs, that is, archaeal amoA, bacterial amoA, nosZ, narG, nirK and nirS) to assess their responses to increased temperature, increased or decreased precipitation amounts, and prolonged drought (no change in total precipitation but increase in precipitation intervals) in terrestrial ecosystem (i.e. grasslands, forests, shrublands, tundra and croplands). Across the data set, temperature increased N2O emissions by 33%. However, the effects were highly variable across biomes, with strongest temperature responses in shrublands, variable responses in forests and negative responses in tundra. The warming methods employed also influenced the effects of temperature on N2O emissions (most effectively induced by open‐top chambers). Whole‐day or whole‐year warming treatment significantly enhanced N2O emissions, but daytime, nighttime or short‐season warming did not have significant effects. Regardless of biome, treatment method and season, increased precipitation promoted N2O emission by an average of 55%, while decreased precipitation suppressed N2O emission by 31%, predominantly driven by changes in soil moisture. The effect size of precipitation changes on nirS and nosZ showed a U‐shape relationship with soil moisture; further insight into biotic mechanisms underlying N2O emission response to climate change remain limited by data availability, underlying a need for studies that report SFG. Our findings indicate that climate change substantially affects N2O emission and highlights the urgent need to incorporate this strong feedback into most climate models for convincing projection of future climate change.
Spatial analysis of urban material stock with clustering algorithms: A Northern European case study
Authors: Gontia Paul , Thuvander Liane , Ebrahimi Babak , Vinas Victor , Rosado Leonardo , Wallbaum Holger
Published: September 2019

A large share of construction material stock (MS) accumulates in urban built environments. To attain a more sustainable use of resources, knowledge about the spatial distribution of urban MS is needed. In this article, an innovative spatial analysis approach to urban MS is proposed. Within this scope, MS indicators are defined at neighborhood level and clustered with k‐mean algorithms. The MS is estimated bottom‐up with (a) material‐intensity coefficients and (b) spatial data for three built environment components: buildings, road transportation, and pipes, using seven material categories. The city of Gothenburg, Sweden is used as a case study. Moreover, being the first case study in Northern Europe, the results are explored through various aspects (material composition, age distribution, material density), and, finally, contrasted on a per capita basis with other studies worldwide.

The stock is estimated at circa 84 million metric tons. Buildings account for 73% of the stock, road transport 26%, and pipes 1%. Mineral‐binding materials take the largest share of the stock, followed by aggregates, brick, asphalt, steel, and wood. Per capita, the MS is estimated at 153 metric tons; 62 metric tons are residential, which, in an international context, is a medium estimate. Denser neighborhoods with a mix of nonresidential and residential buildings have a lower proportion of MS in roads and pipes than low‐density single‐family residential neighborhoods. Furthermore, single‐family residential neighborhoods cluster in mixed‐age classes and show the largest content of wood. Multifamily buildings cluster in three distinct age classes, and each represent a specific material composition of brick, mineral binding, and steel. Future work should focus on megacities and contrasting multiple urban areas and, methodologically, should concentrate on algorithms, MS indicators, and spatial divisions of urban stock.