bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Should patients with acute myeloid leukemia and measurable residual disease be transplanted in first complete remission?
Authors: Buccisano Francesco , Walter Roland B.
Published: December 2016

Purpose of review

Measurable (‘minimal’) residual disease in acute myeloid leukemia during first complete morphologic remission (MRDpos CR1) identifies patients with particularly high relapse risk and short survival. Here, we examine the evidence regarding optimal postremission treatment strategy for such patients.

Recent findings

With chemotherapy alone or chemotherapy/autologous hematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT), disease recurrence appears inevitable in patients with MRDpos CR1. Nonrandomized studies indicate that allogeneic HCT improves outcomes over chemotherapy and/or autologous HCT, although relapse risks remain substantial. Emerging data suggest that myeloablative cord blood HCT may overcome the negative impact of MRD to a greater degree than other transplants, but the relative contributions of intensified conditioning and stem cell source to this effect are unknown.

Available evidence supports the recommendation to consider allogeneic HCT for all acute myeloid leukemia patients in MRDpos CR1. Whether cord blood transplants should be prioritized deserves further investigation. To what degree outcomes of MRDpos CR1 patients could be improved by treatment intensification during induction, postremission therapy and/or before transplantation to revert the patient into an MRDneg state is currently unknown, as is the value of post-transplant preemptive therapies. These remain areas worthy of investigation, preferably in the setting of controlled clinical trials.
Passion for leisure activity contributes to pain experiences during rehabilitation
Authors: Courbalay Anne , Deroche Thomas , Brewer Britton
Published: December 2016

The primary aim of this study was to determine whether the levels of obsessive passion (OP) and harmonious passion for a suspended leisure activity contribute to pain catastrophizing and pain intensity in patients undergoing the rehabilitation process. The secondary aim was to examine whether the levels of passion associated with a maintained leisure activity offset the contribution of having a leisure activity suspended to pain intensity and catastrophizing. Ninety-one outpatients from functional rehabilitation units (M
age=37, SD=13.44 years) completed measures of pain catastrophizing, pain intensity, and passion about valued leisure activities (one they were prevented from practicing and one they remained able to practice). Correlation analysis showed that the level of OP for a suspended valued leisure activity was positively associated with pain catastrophizing and pain intensity. Results showed that pain catastrophizing mediated the relationship between this level of passion and pain intensity. The levels of harmonious passion and OP for a maintained valued leisure activity did not offset the contribution of OP for a suspended leisure activity to pain-related outcomes. When prevented from practicing a valued leisure activity, only OP contributes to the prediction of pain catastrophizing and pain intensity. The contribution of pain catastrophizing provides a potential explanation for why the level of OP for a suspended leisure activity is related to pain intensity ratings. The benefits of maintaining a valued leisure activity during rehabilitation do not seem sufficient to counterbalance the maladaptive effects of being prevented from the practice of a previous/another valued leisure activity.
Robotic approaches for the rehabilitation of upper limb recovery after stroke: a systematic review and meta-analysis
Authors: Zhang Chao , Li-Tsang Cecilia W.P. , Au Ricky K.C.
Published: December 2016

This systematic review with a meta-analysis of studies was carried out to evaluate the effectiveness of robotic training (RT) and conventional training (CT) in improving the motor recovery of paretic upper limbs in stroke patients. Numerous electronic databases were searched from January 2000 to May 2016. Finally, 13 randomized-controlled trials fulfilled the inclusion criteria and were included in the three meta-analyses. The first meta-analysis carried out for those studies using RT for stroke patients indicated a significant improvement in the RT groups. The second meta-analysis suggested that the upper limb function (measured by Fugl-Meyer test) was significantly improved when RT was used with CT compared with CT alone. The third meta-analysis noted a significant difference in motor recovery between the CT-only and RT groups (RT only or RT combined with CT) in the chronic stages of stroke, but not in the acute or subacute stages. However, the RT group also showed a higher Fugl-Meyer score in patients at both the acute and the subacute stage. RT appeared to have positive outcomes to enhance motor recovery of the paralyzed upper limb. Robotic devices were believed to provide more assistance to patients to help support the weight of the upper limb; thus, active movement training can begin in the early rehabilitation stage. These novel devices may also help those chronic patients to achieve better rehabilitation goals. As a summary, RT could be used in addition to CT to help both therapists and patients in the management of the paralyzed upper limb.
The Effect of Force Feedback in a Virtual Learning Environment on the Performance and Satisfaction of Dental Students
Authors: de Boer Ilse R. , Lagerweij Maxim D. , de Vries Merlijn W. , Wesselink Paul R. , Vervoorn Johanna M.
Published: December 2016

Introduction

This study investigated the effect of force feedback (FFB) on student performance in a virtual learning environment (VLE) using the Simodont dental trainer (Moog, Nieuw-Vennep, the Netherlands) and evaluated the students' satisfaction with and without FFB.

Methods

The Simodont dental trainer, which was used as a VLE, was randomly assigned to 101 first-year dental students with no previous experience in cutting a tooth or working in a VLE with FFB. This study was designed as a crossover study. One half of the students practiced without FFB, whereas one half practiced with FFB. Both groups practiced four sessions lasting 45 minutes on a cross preparation. In the fifth session, test 1 was scheduled. After test 1, the same practicing and testing protocol was followed, although the environment was switched. After test 2, participants filled out a questionnaire. For the statistical analysis, only the questionnaires of the students who participated in both tests were processed.

Results

The results of test 1 and test 2 revealed that only students who used FFB were able to pass the tests. The questionnaire outcomes supported the results of both tests; 100% of the students preferred working with FFB.

Conclusions

The results suggest that FFB is important for performance in a VLE and essential for satisfaction.
Impact of Skeletal Muscle Mass Index, Intramuscular Adipose Tissue Content, and Visceral to Subcutaneous Adipose Tissue Area Ratio on Early Mortality of Living Donor Liver Transplantation
Authors: Hamaguchi Yuhei , Kaido Toshimi , Okumura Shinya , Kobayashi Atsushi , Shirai Hisaya , Yagi Shintaro , Kamo Naoko , Okajima Hideaki , Uemoto Shinji
Published: December 2016

Background

Skeletal muscle depletion has been shown to be an independent risk factor for poor survival in various diseases. However, in surgery, the significance of other body components including visceral and subcutaneous adipose tissue remains unclear.

Methods

This retrospective study included 250 adult patients undergoing living donor liver transplantation (LDLT) between January 2008 and April 2015. Using preoperative plain computed tomography imaging at the third lumbar vertebra level, skeletal muscle mass, muscle quality, and visceral adiposity were evaluated by the skeletal muscle mass index (SMI), intramuscular adipose tissue content (IMAC), and visceral to subcutaneous adipose tissue area ratio (VSR), respectively. The cutoff values of these parameters were determined for men and women separately using the data of 657 healthy donors for LDLT between 2005 and 2016. Impact of these parameters on outcomes after LDLT was analyzed.

Results

VSR was significantly correlated with patient age (P = 0.041), neutrophil-lymphocyte ratio (P < 0.001), body mass index (P < 0.001), and SMI (P = 0.001). The overall survival probability was significantly lower in patients with low SMI (P < 0.001), high IMAC (P < 0.001), and high VSR (P < 0.001) than in each respective normal group. On multivariate analysis, low SMI (hazard ratio [HR], 2.367, P = 0.002), high IMAC (HR, 2.096, P = 0.004), and high VSR (HR, 2.213, P = 0.003) were identified as independent risk factors for death after LDLT.

Conclusions

Preoperative visceral adiposity, as well as low muscularity, was closely involved with posttransplant mortality.
Conservation status of polar bears (Ursus maritimus) in relation to projected sea-ice declines
Authors: Regehr Eric V. , Laidre Kristin L. , Akçakaya H. Resit , Amstrup Steven C. , Atwood Todd C. , Lunn Nicholas J. , Obbard Martyn , Stern Harry , Thiemann Gregory W. , Wiig Øystein
Published: December 2016

Loss of Arctic sea ice owing to climate change is the primary threat to polar bears throughout their range. We evaluated the potential response of polar bears to sea-ice declines by (i) calculating generation length (GL) for the species, which determines the timeframe for conservation assessments; (ii) developing a standardized sea-ice metric representing important habitat; and (iii) using statistical models and computer simulation to project changes in the global population under three approaches relating polar bear abundance to sea ice. Mean GL was 11.5 years. Ice-covered days declined in all subpopulation areas during 1979–2014 (median −1.26 days year−1). The estimated probabilities that reductions in the mean global population size of polar bears will be greater than 30%, 50% and 80% over three generations (35–41 years) were 0.71 (range 0.20–0.95), 0.07 (range 0–0.35) and less than 0.01 (range 0–0.02), respectively. According to IUCN Red List reduction thresholds, which provide a common measure of extinction risk across taxa, these results are consistent with listing the species as vulnerable. Our findings support the potential for large declines in polar bear numbers owing to sea-ice loss, and highlight near-term uncertainty in statistical projections as well as the sensitivity of projections to different plausible assumptions.
Mitral valve leaflet remodelling during pregnancy: insights into cell-mediated recovery of tissue homeostasis
Authors: Rego Bruno V. , Wells Sarah M. , Lee Chung-Hao , Sacks Michael S.
Published: December 2016

Little is known about how valvular tissues grow and remodel in response to altered loading. In this work, we used the pregnancy state to represent a non-pathological cardiac volume overload that distends the mitral valve (MV), using both extant and new experimental data and a modified form of our MV structural constitutive model. We determined that there was an initial period of permanent set-like deformation where no remodelling occurs, followed by a remodelling phase that resulted in near-complete restoration of homeostatic tissue-level behaviour. In addition, we observed that changes in the underlying MV interstitial cell (MVIC) geometry closely paralleled the tissue-level remodelling events, undergoing an initial passive perturbation followed by a gradual recovery to the pre-pregnant state. Collectively, these results suggest that valvular remodelling is actively mediated by average MVIC deformations (i.e. not cycle to cycle, but over a period of weeks). Moreover, tissue-level remodelling is likely to be accomplished by serial and parallel additions of fibrillar material to restore the mean homeostatic fibre stress and MVIC geometries. This finding has significant implications in efforts to understand and predict MV growth and remodelling following such events as myocardial infarction and surgical repair, which also place the valve under altered loading conditions.
Knowing your neighbourhood: local ecology and personal experience predict neighbourhood perceptions in Belfast, Northern Ireland
Authors: Gilbert James , Uggla Caroline , Mace Ruth
Published: December 2016

Evolutionary theory predicts that humans should adjust their life-history strategies in response to local ecological threats and opportunities in order to maximize their reproductive success. Cues representing threats to individuals' lives and health in modern, Western societies may come in the form of local ages at death, morbidity rate and crime rate in their local area, whereas the adult sex ratio represents a measure of the competition for reproductive partners. These characteristics are believed to have a strong influence over a wide range of behaviours, but whether they are accurately perceived has not been robustly tested. Here, we investigate whether perceptions of four neighbourhood characteristics are accurate across eight neighbourhoods in Belfast, Northern Ireland. We find that median age at death and morbidity rates are accurately perceived, whereas adult sex ratios and crime rates are not. We suggest that both neighbourhood characteristics and personal experiences contribute to the formation of perceptions. This should be considered by researchers looking for associations between area-level factors.
Automatic prediction of tumour malignancy in breast cancer with fractal dimension
Authors: Chan Alan , Tuszynski Jack A.
Published: December 2016

Breast cancer is one of the most prevalent types of cancer today in women. The main avenue of diagnosis is through manual examination of histopathology tissue slides. Such a process is often subjective and error-ridden, suffering from both inter- and intraobserver variability. Our objective is to develop an automatic algorithm for analysing histopathology slides free of human subjectivity. Here, we calculate the fractal dimension of images of numerous breast cancer slides, at magnifications of 40×, 100×, 200× and 400×. Using machine learning, specifically, the support vector machine (SVM) method, the F1 score for classification accuracy of the 40× slides was found to be 0.979. Multiclass classification on the 40× slides yielded an accuracy of 0.556. A reduction of the size and scope of the SVM training set gave an average F1 score of 0.964. Taken together, these results show great promise in the use of fractal dimension to predict tumour malignancy.
Convergence between a mosquito-eating predator's natural diet and its prey-choice behaviour
Authors: Jackson Robert R. , Deng Chan , Cross Fiona R.
Published: December 2016

On the basis of 1115 records ofEvarcha culicivorafeeding in the field, we can characterize this East African jumping spider (Salticidae) as being distinctively stenophagic. We can also, on the basis of laboratory prey-choice experiments, characterizeE.culicivoraas having a specialized prey-classification system and a hierarchy of innate preferences for various categories of mosquitoes and other arthropods. Prey from the field belonged to 10 arthropod orders, but 94.5% of the prey records were dipterans. Mosquitoes were the dominant prey (80.2% of the records), with the majority (82.9%) of the mosquitoes being females, and thereafter midges were the most common prey (9.2% of the records). Preference profiles that were determined from experiments showed strong convergence with natural diet in some, but not all, instances. In experiments,E.culicivoraadults appeared to distinguish between six prey categories and juveniles between seven, with blood-carrying anopheline female mosquitoes being ranked highest in preference. For adults, this was followed by blood-carrying culicine female mosquitoes and then anopheline female mosquitoes not carrying blood, but these two preferences were reversed for juveniles. Moreover, for juveniles, but not for adults, anopheline male mosquitoes seem to be a distinct prey category ranked in preference after blood-carrying culicine females and, for both adults and juveniles, preference for midges is evident when the alternatives are not mosquitoes. These findings illustrate the importance of going beyond simply specifying preferred prey categories when characterizing predators as ‘specialized’ and a need to make clear conceptual distinctions between a predator's natural diet, the prey categories that are relevant to the predator, and the predator's prey-choicebehaviour.
Non-linear tradeoffs allow the cooperation game to evolve from Prisoner’s Dilemma to Snow Drift
Authors: Chao Lin , Elena Santiago F.
Published: December 2016

The existence of cooperation, or the production of public goods, is an evolutionary problem. Cooperation is not favored because the Prisoner’s Dilemma (PD) game drives cooperators to extinction. We have re-analyzed this problem by using RNA viruses to motivate a model for the evolution of cooperation. Gene products are the public goods and group size is the number of virions co-infecting the same host cell. Our results show that if the tradeoff between replication and production of gene products is linear, PD is observed. However, if the tradeoff is nonlinear, the viruses evolve into separate lineages of ultra-defectors and ultra-cooperators as group size is increased. The nonlinearity was justified by the existence of real viral ultra-defectors, known as defective interfering (DI) particles, which gain a nonlinear advantage by being smaller. The evolution of ultra-defectors and ultra-cooperators creates the Snow Drift game, which promotes high-level production of public goods.
Validating Regulatory Predictions from Diverse Bacteria with Mutant Fitness Data
Authors: Sagawa Shiori , Price Morgan N. , Deutschbauer Adam M. , Arkin Adam P.
Published: December 2016

Although transcriptional regulation is fundamental to understanding bacterial physiology, the targets of most bacterial transcription factors are not known. Comparative genomics has been used to identify likely targets of some of these transcription factors, but these predictions typically lack experimental support. Here, we used mutant fitness data, which measures the importance of each gene for a bacterium’s growth across many conditions, to validate regulatory predictions from RegPrecise, a curated collection of comparative genomics predictions. Because characterized transcription factors often have correlated fitness with one of their targets (either positively or negatively), correlated fitness patterns provide support for the comparative genomics predictions. At a false discovery rate of 3%, we identified significant cofitness for at least one target of 158 TFs in 107 ortholog groups and from 24 bacteria. Thus, high-throughput genetics can be used to identify a high-confidence subset of the sequence-based regulatory predictions.
No evidence for genome editing in mouse zygotes and HEK293T human cell line using the DNA-guidedNatronobacterium gregoryiArgonaute (NgAgo)
Authors: Khin Nay Chi , Lowe Jenna L. , Jensen Lora M. , Burgio Gaetan
Published: December 2016

A recently published research article reported that the extreme halophile archaebacteriumNatronobacterium gregoryiArgonaute enzyme (NgAgo) could cleave the cellular DNA under physiological temperature conditions in cell line and be implemented as an alternative to CRISPR/Cas9 genome editing technology. We assessed this claim in mouse zygotes for four loci (Sptb,Tet-1,Tet-2andTet-3) and in the human HEK293T cell line for the EMX1 locus. Over 100 zygotes were microinjected with nls-NgAgo-GK plasmid provided from Addgene and various concentrations of 5’- phosphorylated guide DNA (gDNA) from 2.5 ng/μl to 50 ng/μl and cultured to blastocyst stage of development. The presence of indels was verified using T7 endonuclease 1 assay (T7E1) and Sanger sequencing. We reported no evidence of successful editing of the mouse genome. We then assessed the lack of editing efficiency in HEK293T cell line for the EMX1 endogenous locus by monitoring the NgAgo protein expression level and the editing efficiency by T7E1 assay and Sanger sequencing. We reported that the NgAgo protein was expressed from 8 hours to a maximum expression at 48 hours post-transfection, confirming the efficient delivery of the plasmid and the gDNA but no evidence of successful editing of EMX1 target in all transfected samples. Together our findings indicate that we failed to edit using NgAgo.
Evolutionary variations in the biofilm-associated protein BslA from the genusBacillus
Authors: Morris Ryan J. , Schor Marieke , Gillespie Rachel M.C. , Ferreira Ana Sofia , Bromley Keith M. , Baldauf Lucia , Arnaouteli Sofia , Sukhodub Tetyana , Ostrowski Adam , Hobley Laura , Earl Chris , Stanley-Wall Nicola R. , MacPhee Cait E.
Published: December 2016

BslA is a protein secreted byBacillus subtiliswhich forms a hydrophobic film that coats the biofilm surface and renders it water-repellent. We have characterised three orthologues of BslA fromBacillus amyloliquefaciens,Bacillus licheniformisandBacillus pumilusas well as a paralogue fromB. subtiliscalled YweA. We find that the three orthologous proteins can substitute for BslA inB. subtilisand confer a degree of protection, whereas YweA cannot. The degree to which the proteins functionally substitute for native BslA correlates with theirin vitrobiophysical properties. Our results demonstrate the use of naturally-evolved variants to provide a framework for teasing out the molecular basis of interfacial self-assembly.
Understanding genetic changes underlying the molybdate resistance and the glutathione production inSaccharomyces cerevisiaewine strains using an evolution-based strategy
Authors: Mezzetti Francesco , Fay Justin C. , Giudici Paolo , De Vero Luciana
Published: December 2016

In this work we have investigated the genetic changes underlying the high glutathione (GSH) production showed by the evolvedSaccharomyces cerevisiaestrain UMCC 2581, selected in a molybdate-enriched environment after sexual recombination of the parental wine strain UMCC 855. To reach our goal, we first generated strains with the desired phenotype, and then we mapped changes underlying adaptation to molybdate by using a whole-genome sequencing. Moreover, we carried out the RNA-seq that allowed an accurate measurement of gene expression and an effective comparison between the transcriptional profiles of parental and evolved strains, in order to investigate the relationship between genotype and high GSH production phenotype.

Among all genes evaluated only two genes,MED2andRIM15both related to oxidative stress response, presented new mutations in the UMCC 2581 strain sequence and were potentially related to the evolved phenotype.

Regarding the expression of high GSH production phenotype, it included over-expression of amino acids permeases and precursor biosynthetic enzymes rather than the two GSH metabolic enzymes, whereas GSH production and metabolism, transporter activity, vacuolar detoxification and oxidative stress response enzymes were probably added resulting in the molybdate resistance phenotype. This work provides an example of a combination of an evolution-based strategy to successful obtain yeast strain with desired phenotype and inverse engineering approach to genetic characterize the evolved strain. The obtained genetic information could be useful for further optimization of the evolved strains and for providing an even more rapid approach to identify new strains, with a high GSH production, through a marked-assisted selection strategy.
Homeostasis Back and Forth: An Eco-Evolutionary Perspective of Cancer
Authors: Basanta David , Anderson Alexander R. A.
Published: December 2016

The role of genetic mutations in cancer is indisputable: they are a key source of tumor heterogeneity and drive its evolution to malignancy. But the success of these new mutant cells relies on their ability to disrupt the homeostasis that characterizes healthy tissues. Mutated clones unable to break free from intrinsic and extrinsic homeostatic controls will fail to establish a tumor. Here we will discuss, through the lens of mathematical and computational modeling, why an evolutionary view of cancer needs to be complemented by an ecological perspective in order to understand why cancer cells invade and subsequently transform their environment during progression. Importantly, this ecological perspective needs to account for tissue homeostasis in the organs that tumors invade, since they perturb the normal regulatory dynamics of these tissues, often co-opting them for its own gain. Furthermore, given our current lack of success in treating advanced metastatic cancers through tumor centric therapeutic strategies, we propose that treatments that aim to restore homeostasis could become a promising venue of clinical research. This eco-evolutionary view of cancer requires mechanistic mathematical models in order to both integrate clinical with biological data from different scales but also to detangle the dynamic feedback between the tumor and its environment. Importantly, for these models to be useful, they need to embrace a higher degree of complexity than many mathematical modelers are traditionally comfortable with.
Non-random inversion landscapes in prokaryotic genomes are shaped by heterogeneous selection pressures
Authors: Repar Jelena , Warnecke Tobias
Published: December 2016

Inversions are a major contributor to structural genome evolution in prokaryotes. Here, using a novel alignment-based method, we systematically compare 1651 bacterial and 98 archaeal genomes to show that inversion landscapes are frequently biased towards (symmetric) inversions around the origin-terminus axis. However, symmetric inversion bias is not a universal feature of prokaryotic genome evolution but varies considerably across clades. At the extremes, inversion landscapes in Bacillus-Clostridium and Actinobacteria are dominated by symmetric inversions, while there is little or no systematic bias favouring symmetric rearrangements in archaea with a single origin of replication. Within clades, we find strong but clade-specific relationships between symmetric inversion bias and different features of adaptive genome architecture, including the distance of essential genes to the origin of replication and the preferential localization of genes on the leading strand. We suggest that heterogeneous selection pressures have converged to produce similar patterns of structural genome evolution across prokaryotes.
Customer orientation and firm’s business performance
Authors: Pekovic Sanja , Rolland Sylvie
Published: December 2016

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to develop a better theoretical and empirical understanding of the causal and contextual mechanisms explaining the relationship between customer orientation and business performance.

Design/methodology/approach

A three-stage least squares model was used on a sample of 3,720 French firms with 20 or more employees.

Findings

By using a moderated mediation approach, it was found that the mediating effect of environmental customer innovation on the relationship between customer orientation and business performance under different contextual factors (market environment, firm size and sector of activity) can be significantly stronger or weaker.

Research limitations/implications

This analysis is restricted by the choice of one particular country, and further research should use data from other countries to develop a general understanding of the issues examined. Additionally, examining relevant mechanisms other than firm performance measures will advance the understanding of the customer orientation–firm performance linkage. Because of the fact that the majority of variables used are binary and that each survey was conducted in a particular situation and in a particular context, the picture portrayed could be biased. Because environmental issues not only concern consumers but also all other market actors, it would be highly useful to verify the obtained results using broader concepts such as Hult’s (2011) “market orientation plus” concept or the “sustainable market orientation” developed by Mitchellet al.(2010).

Practical implications

According to the results, to achieve market success and sustain a competitive advantage, managers must simultaneously invest in customer orientation and innovation performance. Additionally, managers should consider market environment, firm size and sector of activity as important contingencies in their decision of whether to invest in customer orientation.

Originality/value

This study makes an important contribution by opening up a “black box” and offers a deeper perspective on how and why customer orientation affects firm performance. In particular, rather than providing separate analyses of mediating and moderating effects, this study proposes a simultaneous analysis that reveals how and under what conditions customer orientation improves business performance.
Comprehensive survey on effect of mobility over routing issues in wireless multimedia sensor networks
Authors: Borawake-Satao Rachana , Prasad Rajesh
Published: December 2016

Purpose

Wireless Multimedia Sensor Network (WMSN) is expected to be a key technology for future network. The multimodal information along with very low-cost availability of the camera sensor nodes is promoting the extensive use of audio, image and video in various real-time implementations. The purpose of this paper is to study various routing issues and the effect of mobility on existing solutions for the applications in future internet.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper conducts a survey of the various methodologies for routing and the vital issues in the design of routing protocols for WMSN, and it also discusses about the effect of mobility on various routing methodologies of WMSN. WMSN ubiquitously performs data acquisition, processing and routing for scalar and multimedia data in a mobile environment. The routing protocols should be adaptive in nature and should have a dynamic approach to service effectively for future network. Many authors proposed the mobility of sink to improve lifetime of the network. This paper discusses some effective approaches for the network where not only the sink node but also some of the sensor nodes are mobile.

Findings

During the survey, the performance and lifetime of the network are discussed, other parameters like delay, packet loss, energy consumption and simulators used for implementation are also discussed.

Originality/value

The techniques in this paper represent a considerable solution for mobility issues in future internet applications.
Pharmaceutical innovation and market share: evidence from a generic market
Authors: Yousefi Nazila , Mehralian Gholamhossein , Rasekh Hamid Reza , Tayeba Hossein
Published: December 2016

Purpose

Pharmaceutical market value in Iran exceeded to more than US$4bn in 2013, indicating annually over 20 per cent growth. In the past decades, Iranian pharmaceutical industry was supported by government policies, namely, generic substitution, import limitation and local production support; however, the local pharmaceutical manufacturer’s market share in value has been decreased gradually. This study aims to provide historical data on Iran pharmaceutical market to show the importance of new product development to attain greater market share and tries to motivate the pharmaceutical industry located in developing countries to develop more innovative medicines.

Design/methodology/approach

This is a descriptive cross-sectional study that investigates the Iranian pharmaceutical market by focusing on new products over a five-year period (2009-2014), and that was augmented by an expert panel to rank subjectively firms’ performance indicators to shed light on the importance of new product development to firms’ performance.

Findings

The expert panel results find out that new product development is one of the most important “result indicators” for Iranian pharmaceutical companies. Historically, in line with the experts’ opinion on the new product development, the Iranian pharmaceutical industry has shown its capability to develop new medicines by developing 3,095 new products (mostly new-to-firm) across about 100 firms. Despite this fact, the share of local manufacturers in new medicines’ market decreased from 52 per cent at the beginning of studied period to 24 per cent at the end, and the gap between the unit value of imported and domestically produced medicines has been significantly increased due to low-innovative medicines locally produced.

Research limitations/implications

This research was challenged with limitations such as lack of reliable published data on new medicines in the Iran pharmaceutical market.

Practical implications

This study highlights the fact that developing more innovative products in the generic pharmaceutical industry such as Iran can grant its market share.

Originality/value

This is an original study that shows the effect of innovative product development on market share through historical data.
Effective customer experience management in health-care sector of Nigeria
Authors: Worlu Rowland , Kehinde Oladele Joseph , Borishade Taiye Tairat
Published: December 2016

Purpose

The purpose of this conceptual paper is to introduce the concept of customer experience management (CEM) as a supportive construct in customer loyalty building. In support of Smith and Wheeler (2002) stance, Cronin (2003) argued that organizations should deviate from outdated quality → value → satisfaction → loyalty paradigm to a modern and more flexible paradigm for loyalty building.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper uses an archival survey of the extant literature to confirm or debunk the position of CEM protagonists within the context of the health-care sector of developing countries, especially Nigeria.

Findings

This paper presents a new conceptualization on CEM that includes three dimensions of CEM (functional clues, mechanic clues and humanic clues) on customer loyalty in the health-care sector of Nigeria. Therefore, when a health-care organization consciously and effectively makes CEM a strategic priority, it largely leaves a long-lasting impression in the mind of the customers, which invariably retain and build customer loyalty.

Research limitations/implications

The authors emphasized the importance of how CEM can be used to build loyalty and the need to properly adapt CEM approach in an extremely sensitive service sector, i.e. the health-care sector in developing countries, especially Nigeria. The recommended framework initiates fresh streams of researches for the concept to be carried out empirically in developing countries.

Practical implications

To retain and build customer loyalty, particularly in the health-care sector of Nigeria, health-care organizations need to understand and adopt CEM clues so as to keep customers loyal in an extremely sensitive service sector.

Originality/value

Although there are studies on CEM and customer loyalty in the health-care sector of developed countries, research on CEM is very limited in developing countries such as Nigeria. By contributing to the body of knowledge in this area, this research adds significant value. Moreover, the research gives important information on the Nigerian health-care sector, which probably new to several readers.
Dynamics of coordination-clusters in long-term rehabilitation
Authors: Noori Nadia Saad , Weber Christina
Published: December 2016

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to introduce a novel approach to studying disaster management operations: the emergence of coordination-clusters in long-term rehabilitation projects and innovation dynamics in coordination-clusters.

Design/methodology/approach

The problem addressed is examining the coordination dynamics in long-term rehabilitation operations. A mixed methods research approach was adopted where a combination of qualitative and quantitative techniques was used for data collection and analysis to study the phenomenon of the coordination evolution in long-term rehabilitation projects.

Findings

The results indicate resilience in the behavior of involved actors from different organizations as they re-organize into coordination-clusters and collectively work to overcome the unfolding challenges of long-term rehabilitation projects in areas affected by major disaster.

Research limitations/implications

The results provide some answers to the question of how to map and analyze the phenomenon of coordination-clusters and their consequent coordination dynamics, and thereby steps to redesign the approach to execute long-term rehabilitation projects in places affected by major disasters.

Practical implications

The combination of Actor-network theory and critical incident technique with social network analysis and community detection provides an integrated network-based view of coordination dynamics in long-term recovery operations. Such perspective would broaden the empirical basis for the planning and management of complex disaster management operations.

Originality/value

The results of the research offer a new approach to study coordination dynamics in disaster management operations. The proposed method provides a tool to examine the evolution of processes involved with the recovery phase of a disaster management cycle.
Libraries, massive open online courses and the importance of place
Authors: Ackerman Steven , Mooney Margaret , Morrill Stefanie , Morrill Joshua , Thompson Mary , Balenovich Lika K.
Published: December 2016

Purpose

Web-based courses are a practical way to engage in meaningful discussions with learners from a diverse set of communities. By gathering online to learn about a topic, learners can form communities that transcend geographic and political boundaries. This paper aims to investigate a partnership between the University of Wisconsin-Madison (UW-Madison) and Wisconsin Library Services, which brought open access online learning to thousands of lifelong learners around the state of Wisconsin. “Changing Weather and Climate in the Great Lakes Region”, a massive open online course the UW-Madison launched in 2015, paired a regional focus with face-to-face discussions at 21 public libraries to deepen learners’ personal connections to the subject matter. Through strategic partnership, targeted course development and marketing of events, intimate local discussion sessions and statewide events provided fora in which Wisconsin residents would explore changing weather and climate with university faculty, staff and students.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper uses a case study approach and firsthand interview feedback from librarians, library staff and university faculty and staff who were leading the effort.

Findings

This paper explores the lessons learned and practical implications from the project and offers insight into libraries and universities looking to engage specific communities in non-credit online learning projects into the future.

Originality/value

This effort was a first of its kind partnership for the University and the State of Wisconsin.
Trends and issues in Jamaican academic libraries 2010-2016
Authors: Harris Sasekea
Published: December 2016

Purpose

Observing trends and issues plays a key role in the success of any industry. Since 2010, the Association of College & Research Libraries (ACRL) has been publishing papers on top trends and issues in academic libraries in the USA, allowing for reflection, tracking, lesson drawing, adaptation, planning and direction. Such a publication is absent in the Jamaican library industry. This paper aims to examine the extent to which these trends and issues, as reported by ACRL, are evident in Jamaican academic librarianship.

Design/methodology/approach

Through document and thematic analysis of publications written on Jamaican academic librarianship 2010-2016, this paper highlights trends and issues in Jamaican academic librarianship.

Findings

There are similarities in the trends and issues in Jamaican academic librarianship and American academic librarianship; the similarities sometimes vary, however, in focus. Additionally, there are trends and issues in Jamaican academic librarianship not mentioned in the literature reviewed on American academic librarianship and vice versa.

Research limitations/implications

A survey of the chief librarians’ perceptions regarding the trends and issues would be a useful follow-up.

Practical implications

This paper allows for reflection, comparison, benchmarking, lesson-drawing, planning and direction for academic libraries and other types of libraries in Jamaica and the rest of the developing world.

Social implications

The gaps highlighted, particularly those with the most potential, can be discussed with the objective of exploring how these can be translated into new or revised services for the community of users.

Originality/value

This paper is of value, as there is no publication with an explicit focus on trends and issues in Jamaican academic libraries; this paper will be the first publication on trends and issues in Jamaican academic librarianship. In this regard, this paper makes an important contribution to the literature on academic librarianship generally, and to the literature on Caribbean and Jamaican academic librarianship, specifically.
The persistence of open access electronic journals
Authors: Lightfoot Elizabeth A.
Published: December 2016

Purpose

Open access (OA) electronic journals have been identified as potentially at risk of loss without more coordinated preservation efforts. The purpose of this paper is to test the current availability of OA electronic journals indexed in the Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ).

Design/methodology/approach

Using publicly available journal metadata downloaded from DOAJ, individual journal URLs were tested for validity and accessibility using a Microsoft Excel Visual Basic for Applications macro.

Findings

Initial results showed 69.51 per cent of the URLs tested returned a successful HTTP status code. The remainder of the URLs returned codes that indicated redirection or errors.

Originality/value

Unlike past studies of link decay, this is not limited to cited references or a specific discipline. This study uses the full DOAJ metadata to analyze the persistence of OA electronic journals.
Developing a framework for assessing social cohesion via tourism
Authors: Kamble Zilmiyah , Bouchon Frederic
Published: December 2016

Purpose

Multicultural nation-states face an added layer of challenge to social cohesion when countries already face various degrees of political, socio-economic and religious divide. Communalism has been a dividing threat, and some societies have encountered civil wars. Reconstructing social fabric in post-war countries is a challenge, and there is a need for a catalyst that can reinforce social cohesion. Although post-war countries use tourism, tourism is also perceived as a hegemonic activity, which still needs to be verified. This paper aims to analyze the relevance of tourism as a catalyst for social cohesion of post-war societies. This study discusses the notion of social cohesion and debates the prospect of tourism to act as a catalyst. The paper provides new insights on how tourism can be used to reflect on the society and social cohesion. This study contributes to theory and practice by developing a framework for assessing social cohesion via tourism, using a qualitative approach. The methodology uses a review of literature and policies in tourism and social cohesion. Findings support the validity of tourism as a catalyst, and this study proposes a framework for assessing social cohesion via tourism.

Design/methodology/approach

In this study, the notion of social cohesion is discussed and the prospects of tourism to act as a catalyst are debated upon. A review of literature and policies in tourism and social cohesion are used.

Findings

Findings support the validity of tourism as a catalyst, and a framework for assessing social cohesion via tourism is proposed.

Originality/value

This study proposes a framework for assessing social cohesion via tourism.
Forecasting tomorrow’s tourist
Authors: Moro Sérgio , Rita Paulo
Published: December 2016

Purpose

This study aims to present a very recent literature review on tourism demand forecasting based on 50 relevant articles published between 2013 and June 2016.

Design/methodology/approach

For searching the literature, the 50 most relevant articles according to Google Scholar ranking were selected and collected. Then, each of the articles were scrutinized according to three main dimensions: the method or technique used for analyzing data; the location of the study; and the covered timeframe.

Findings

The most widely used modeling technique continues to be time series, confirming a trend identified prior to 2011. Nevertheless, artificial intelligence techniques, and most notably neural networks, are clearly becoming more used in recent years for tourism forecasting. This is a relevant subject for journals related to other social sciences, such as Economics, and also tourism data constitute an excellent source for developing novel modeling techniques.

Originality/value

The present literature review offers recent insights on tourism forecasting scientific literature, providing evidences on current trends and revealing interesting research gaps.
Tourism services: facing the challenge of new tourist profiles
Authors: Santos Margarida Custódio , Veiga Célia , Águas Paulo
Published: December 2016

Purpose

This paper sought to examine the pertinent literature to identify trends that lead to the emergence of new tourist profiles. The study simultaneously focused on analysing the implications of these new tourist segments for service providers. In a time characterised by constant and accelerated change, the tourism market environment must be systematically and proactively monitored to define more carefully adjusted marketing strategies.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper examined the academic, institutional and trade literature to provide an overview of the main trends and profiles of the main market segments.

Findings

The most relevant segments identified and profiled are the seniors and millennials. The importance of this two generational segments for tourism derives from their large dimensions and strong interest in travelling. Empirical evidence has been found that the senior segment comprises two distinct sub-segments: “younger at heart” and “older at heart”. Therefore, seniors cannot be targeted as a homogeneous segment. Regarding the millennials, they are considered digital natives, who look for authentic experiences and see themselves as travellers rather than tourists. They are expected to be the largest market segment by 2020. The implications of each segment profile for service providers are discussed.

Originality/value

The profiling of the two most important tourist segments allows managers to design more effective marketing-mix strategies to implement along the different stages of the tourism consumption process, which include the pre-travel, during-travel and post-travel phases.