bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Segmenting consumer reactions to social network marketing
Authors: Campbell Colin , Ferraro Carla , Sands Sean
Published: June 2014

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to understand how consumers may be segmented with respect to their reactions to social network marketing.

Design/methodology/approach

– Consumers are segmented on the basis of attitudes toward social network marketing and the association among psychological, economic, and socio-demographic covariates are explored using data from 883 consumers and latent-class analysis.

Findings

– A total of five segments are identified – Passive, Talkers, Hesitant, Active, and Averse – along with significant covariates, such as information search, convenience, entertainment, age and gender that predict membership.

Research limitations/implications

– Evidence was found of two segments that are highly impacted by social network marketing in terms of brand engagement, purchase intention and WOM referral intention. The most engaged – the Active – representing approximately 10 percent, is most open to interacting with brands in social networks, likely to make a purchase as a result of the campaign, and likely to spread WOM. The second group – Talkers – representing 28 percent, is also high on all outcomes, but not impacted as greatly in terms of purchase intentions.

Practical implications

– There is a sizable share of the market (38 percent) that can be positively impacted through social network marketing. This paper reinforces that it is problematic to collapse all users of social networks.

Originality/value

– The paper offers a more nuanced understanding of how consumers engage with social media by focusing on how consumers engage with social network marketing and by employing three segmentation bases: brand engagement, purchase intention, and WOM.
Intelligent sensor-based services success: the role of consumer characteristics and information
Authors: Hwang Jiyoung , Good Linda
Published: June 2014

Purpose

– The aim of this paper is to investigate the role of consumer characteristics and information in explaining their shopping intention regarding intelligent sensor-based services.

Design/methodology/approach

– This study uses scenario-based experiments with the US consumers, in the context of retailers offering radio frequency identification (RFID)-based services. A post-hoc focus group interview was conducted to gain indepth insights into the study findings.

Findings

– Consumers' optimistic attitude toward innovative technologies was highly influential to their shopping intention regardless of the information message valence. The role of discomfort toward innovative technologies is mixed. Contrary to the prediction, when consumers received negative information about RFID-based services, their prior knowledge of innovative technologies increased their shopping intention. Sub-dimensions of privacy concerns had differential impacts depending on the information content. Also, the negativity effect of information about RFID-based services was supported.

Research limitations/implications

– The results showed the important role of consumer characteristics and information together, in regard to consumers' intention to shop. The specific context, RFID-based services, has been rarely studied with consumer perspectives despite the prediction of increasing item-level adoption by retailers.

Practical implications

– Companies should understand their target consumers particularly regarding optimistic attitude toward and knowledge of innovative technology for improved consumers' reactions to intelligent sensor-based services like RFID.

Originality/value

– As one of the few empirical studies on intelligent sensor-based services, this study provides important insights into the roles of consumer traits and communication about intelligent sensor-based services with consumers, in order for companies to fully harness innovative service offerings.
Welfare schemes in India: decentralization dynamics and stakeholder influences
Authors: Gurtoo Anjula , A. Udayaadithya
Published: June 2014

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to provide a background to the special issue on welfare schemes in India. After 25 years of decentralization of governance and structural adjustments implemented in the 1980s and 1990s, have welfare schemes implementation and execution become more accountable and efficient? This paper seeks a critical look at the welfare schemes and its relationship with decentralization and stakeholders’ dynamics.

Design/methodology/approach

– The paper is based on a review of studies post 1990s. Papers representing all main stakeholders are reviewed, namely, politicians and political parties, bureaucrats, beneficiary, and civil society organizations. The inclusion/exclusion decision for the papers was taken on two criteria: the paper/document had to explicitly investigate decentralization, and had to include welfare scheme as the overall theme under which decentralization was investigated.

Findings

– The paper summarizes the new complexities in the system. Stakeholder behaviour is driven by several factors external to the traditional social and economic diversities that signify the Indian sub continent. For example, the authors see the lobbying process shifting to the local level, increasing importance of the local politician and the significance of forming local coalitions and partnerships for better resource allocation.

Originality/value

– The paper attempts to provide an overview by going beyond a critique of development to focus on the perils of operating within a socio-economically complex society.
MGNREGA policy and application
Authors: Chakraborty Banhi
Published: June 2014

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to examine the success rate of MGNREGS as one of the major flagship programme aimed for employment generation for the rural unemployed through exploring the applicability of the schemes in the given sociogeographical diversities.

Design/methodology/approach

– The paper attempts to reveal the relevance and outcome of MGNREGS in the context of rural labour market situation at different levels of the decentralised governance, using data published by the Ministry of Labour and employment at first stage, in addition to web-supported database of Ministry of Rural Development, and it also attempts, through case studies, to find out the root causes of anomalies at ground levels those intricate the performances at successive levels.

Findings

– The paper shows how the structural deficiencies of the programme being added with procedural lapses affecting the realisation of the expected benefits.

Research limitations/implications

– The research findings are relevant with the particular socio-geographical situation which may have less applicability in areas of much favourable agro-climatic conditions.

Practical implications

– The directions the paper could established will help in policy reform at State and Central levels. Special emphasis given on in-built lapses has implications in re-framing the schemes considering the feasibility of the local situations.

Social implications

– The work attempted at the present set-up where the institution's mainstream direction is focused towards technological inputs dissemination both at teaching and research levels, may draw attention equally for understanding the social relevance of technology and it's application in particular.

Originality/value

– The paper attempts to examine the intricacies involved in application of broad-base public-work programme in reality and suggested necessary corrections through adopting area-specific policies.
Welfare schemes and social protection in India
Authors: Jha Raghbendra
Published: June 2014

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to provide a broad overview of welfare schemes in India and their impact on social protection during a period of high economic growth. It summarizes India's performance with respect to select economic and social indicators relative to select low and middle-income countries in the Asia Pacific region. It further overviews trends in some key select economic and social indicators for India and discusses India's attainment in Social Protection relative to an index of such protection provided by the Asian Development Bank.

Design/methodology/approach

– This paper uses a comparative statistical approach and evaluates India's performance in key social welfare areas vis-à-vis that of countries with economic performance comparable to that of India. It also evaluates India's progress along these parameters over time.

Findings

– The basic messages of this paper are: first, compared to low and middle-income countries in the Asia Pacific India's economic performance has outstripped its performance in social and welfare indicators. Second, nevertheless India is spending less on social welfare programs and other welfare schemes than many countries in the Asia Pacific, including some of those whose economic performance has been less impressive than India's. Third, the efficiency and effectiveness of key welfare programs in India need to be substantially improved. Particular attention needs to be paid to female participation in and their access to social welfare programs.

Originality/value

– Informed analyses of social sector spending in India and their impact on welfare outcomes are relatively scarce although descriptive studies of social sector spending and welfare schemes abound. This paper attempts to fill this gap with a cross-country as well as intertemporal analysis of India's performance in these key areas.
Preparation and tribological properties of attapulgite – bentonite clay base grease
Authors: Chen Tiedan , Xia Yanqiu , Liu Zhilu , Wang Zeyun
Published: June 2014

Purpose

– The mixture of attapulgite and bentonite was used as a thickener, and polyalphaolefin was used as the base oil to prepare the new lubricating grease. Some solid particles such as Polytetrafluoroethene (PTFE), MoS2, nano-calcium carbonate and graphite were added in the new lubricating grease as anti-wear additives to investigate the tribological sensitivity.

Design/methodology/approach

– The new lubricating grease was evaluated by optimol-SRV reciprocating friction and wear tester, and the wear volumes were determined using a MicroXAM-3D. At the same time, the dropping point and the cone penetration were investigated and analyzed. The tribological properties of the new lubricating grease and the sensitivity of some solid lubricating additives to the new lubricating base grease were investigated; pure organic-bentonite and pure organic-attapulgite base grease were used as contrast.

Findings

– The new lubricating grease based on the surface-modified bentonite/attapulgite clay base grease was synthesized with a relatively high dropping point, and the mass ratio is 25/75 bentonite/attapulgite clay base grease, having a better tribological performance. MoS2 was used as an anti-wear additive that has good tribological sensitivity to the new lubricating base grease.

Originality/value

– The main innovative thought of this work lies in the mixture of attapulgite and bentonite used as thickener. A relevant report is not available at present.
Strategic procurement from forward contract and spot market
Authors: Lee C.K.M. , Lin Danping , Pasari Rohan
Published: June 2014

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to formulate procurement strategies and determine the optimal procurement quantity in order to maximize profit through forward contracting and the spot market.

Design/methodology/approach

– The procurement process is modeled at various stages along a time horizon from the perspective of the buyer, with consideration of uncertain yields, stochastic demand and dynamic spot market prices. Monte Carlo simulation based experiments were conducted to figure out the best procurement quantity for five different scenarios. The framework was developed to understand the impact of different uncertain variables on a firm's profit. A case study was carried out in a steel making company in India, with real data.

Findings

– The results indicate that the proposed approach enables buyers to achieve higher profits under volatile demand conditions. In the case study, it was found that the profit is higher for the spot market than for contract pricing if there is significant demand and spot price volatility.

Originality/value

– This research considers not only demand uncertainty but also supply uncertainty in the procurement process, and profit analysis was carried out to enable an enterprise to set up a procurement plan by using forward contracting and the spot market. This study should also increase awareness in both academia and industry on the opportunities of using the spot market to enhance flexibility and to mitigate risk in the procurement process.
Enablers and processes for effective knowledge management
Authors: Ho Chin-Fu , Hsieh Pei-Hsuan , Hung Wei-Hsi
Published: June 2014

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to attempt to assist firms in applying knowledge management (KM) through developing an integrated model which considers knowledge enablers, knowledge circulation processes (KCP), and job performance.

Design/methodology/approach

– This study utilizes a questionnaire technique to validate the proposed integrated model. Structural equation modeling also validated the model.

Findings

– All dimensions in the construct of organizational culture positively impact KCP. However, the formalized organizational structure appears to have a positive impact on KCP, while the autonomous organizational structure did not. This study also finds that KCP has a positive impact on both task outcomes and contextual job performance.

Research limitations/implications

– The integrated model, which served to examine the impact of KM enablers on KCP, from the standpoints of organizational culture and organizational structure, along with the impact of KCP on job performance, has improved understanding of the relationships among KM enablers, KCP, and job performance.

Practical implications

– Firms should carefully consider methods for adjusting internal structural designs or institute various mechanisms to promote the use of KM to maintain the organization's long-term competitive advantage.

Originality/value

– The model contributes to firms’ understanding the influence of knowledge enablers on KCP, and provides a KM performance index for assessment of individual performance. Research results can provide enterprises with guidance for implementing initiatives for KM initiatives.
Enabling innovative ability: knowledge sharing as a mediator
Authors: Kuo Yen-Ku , Kuo Tsung-Hsien , Ho Li-An
Published: June 2014

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to investigate the relationships among job satisfaction, workplace friendship, knowledge sharing and service innovation.

Design/methodology/approach

– This is an empirical study that targets electronic information engineers at the science parts located in Taipei, Hsinchu and Tainan (n=851), utilizing a survey questionnaire as the data collection instrument to test the relationship among the four dimensions.

Findings

– The results indicated that: first, both job satisfaction and workplace friendship have demonstrated a significant effect on service innovation; second, knowledge sharing significantly moderates the effect of job satisfaction and workplace friendship on service innovation.

Originality/value

– The present study adds value by examining the moderating effect of knowledge sharing. The results can contribute to the strategic planning of human resource development in order to enhance the capability of service innovation in the technological industry.
Performance assessment of manufacturing SMEs: a frontier approach
Authors: Enis Bulak Muhammet , Turkyilmaz Ali
Published: June 2014

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to measure and evaluate the performance efficiency of manufacturing small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in Turkey. The industry-based efficiency evaluation provides management with information regarding the relatively best practice sectors in the observation sets and locates the relatively inefficient sectors by comparing with the best practiced ones.

Design/methodology/approach

– In this study, an evaluation model is constructed to come up with efficiency analysis for manufacturing SMEs and output-oriented CCR data envelopment analysis approach is utilized to figure out best practiced SMEs. The proposed efficiency measurement model is utilized for 744 SMEs from ten different sectors. Based on the efficiency results, efficiency score of the studied sectors are compared and improvements needed for becoming an efficient unit are reported.

Findings

– The results showed that 94 companies efficiently performed in general perspective. The analysis also revealed that “Wearing Apparel, Dressing and Dyeing of Fur” and “Chemicals and Chemical Products” manufacturing sectors were found to be the inefficient of the overall usage of strategic competitive priorities.

Originality/value

– Based on the previous literature, this study brings more recent perspectives such as service activities and financial power to the four main competitive priorities of cost, quality, flexibility and delivery. The variables used in this study are as follows: Proximity to Market, Ability to Control Costs, Potential Labor Force, Product Quality, Prompt Advantage, Certification, Product Assortment, Distribution Channel, Pricing Policy, Service, Capital, Machinery-Equipment Track, Profit Margin and Market Share.
Collaboration, product innovation, and sales: an empirical study of Chinese firms
Authors: Louis Troilo Michael
Published: June 2014

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to examine the role that collaborations, both foreign and domestic, play on product innovation, sales mix, and sales revenue for Chinese firms. Both statistical correlations and marginal (economic) effects of collaborations feature in the analysis.

Design/methodology/approach

– This study includes 2,700 Chinese firms across 15 industry sectors and 25 cities from a World Bank survey conducted in 2012; the data are stratified by firm size. Given the different types of dependent variables to be estimated, several methodologies are employed: logistic regression, Poisson regression, and ordinary least squares. The marginal effects of key variables are then calculated to demonstrate their economic impact.

Findings

– Regarding the likelihood of product innovation, collaboration with domestic (Chinese) companies is significant for Chinese micro, medium, and large enterprises. Being a foreign subsidiary is significant for the proportion of new products in the sales mix for small, medium, and large firms. Domestic collaboration can boost the sales of innovating small firms and innovating medium companies by nearly 113 and 140 percent, respectively.

Originality/value

– This study builds on the current literature by examining the impact of foreign vs domestic collaboration on Chinese firms, whereas most research examines foreign players only. It offers a more nuanced analysis by stratifying estimates according to firm size, and it goes beyond statistical significance to quantify the real economic effect of collaborations on Chinese companies.
Perceived employability and performance: moderation by felt job insecurity
Authors: De Cuyper Nele , Sulea Coralia , Philippaers Kristien , Fischmann Gabriel , Iliescu Dragos , De Witte Hans
Published: June 2014

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to investigate the relationship perceived employability (the employee's perception about available job opportunities in the external labour market) and performance, accounting for felt job insecurity. Performance is conceptualized broadly in terms of optimal functioning (i.e. in-role performance and helping behaviour) and malfunctioning (i.e. organizational and interpersonal counterproductive work behaviour).

Design/methodology/approach

– Survey data were collected among 433 Romanian workers.

Findings

– The authors hypothesize and demonstrate that perceived employability relates positively to optimal functioning, but less so when workers feel insecure: highly employable workers may be high achievers, but withdraw from the organization when they feel insecure. Furthermore, the authors hypothesize that perceived employability relates positively to malfunctioning, the more so when workers feel insecure. Highly employable workers may care less about organizational norms, particularly when they see reasons to violate these norms: felt job insecurity may be such a reason. However, the interaction between perceived employability and felt job insecurity was not significantly related to malfunctioning. Instead, the authors established a main effect of perceived employability on both organizational and interpersonal counterproductive work behaviour.

Originality/value

– The paper concludes that perceived employability contributes to optimal functioning when workers feel secure, but it may also bring along some costs in the form of malfunctioning.
Qualitative perspectives: through a methodological lens
Authors: Parker Lee
Published: June 2014

Purpose

– This paper aims to offer an insight into the emergent qualitative methodological profile and its distinctive contribution to accounting and management scholarship, particularly reflecting upon the contribution of Qualitative Research in Accounting & Management (QRAM).

Design/methodology/approach

– It examines the range of qualitative methodologies employed in the research published across the ten years of QRAM and analyses the methodological discourse and its contribution to the armoury available to qualitative researchers. In association with these methodological developments, the paper offers a critique of the articulated role of theory in contemporary accounting and management qualitative research.

Findings

– A wide range of qualitative methodologies are found to be in evidence, with considerable scope for further adoption and development of some. Methodological exposition papers are found to be a significant contribution in the past decade and include methodological framework building, methodological applications, methodological critiques, and methodological development exemplars. Alongside methodology, the dual role of theory as either informing or reflecting methodology is presented.

Originality/value

– The paper provides a critical analysis and consideration of qualitative methodological literature development in the last ten years of accounting and management research literature, particularly reflected in QRAM. It identifies dominant methodologies in use, as well as opportunities for expanding the methodological menu in accounting and management research. Furthermore, it classifies groups of methodological papers and their contributing perspectives, as well as addressing the often-vexed relationship between theory and methodology.
Full waveform inversion and the truncated Newton method: quantitative imaging of complex subsurface structures
Authors: Métivier L. , Bretaudeau F. , Brossier R. , Operto S. , Virieux J.
Published: June 2014

Full waveform inversion is a powerful tool for quantitative seismic imaging from wide‐azimuth seismic data. The method is based on the minimization of the misfit between observed and simulated data. This amounts to the solution of a large‐scale nonlinear minimization problem. The inverse Hessian operator plays a crucial role in this reconstruction process. Accounting accurately for the effect of this operator within the minimization scheme should correct for illumination deficits, restore the amplitude of the subsurface parameters, and help to remove artefacts generated by energetic multiple reflections. Conventional minimization methods (nonlinear conjugate gradient, quasi‐Newton methods) only roughly approximate the effect of this operator. In this study, we are interested in the truncated Newton minimization method. These methods are based on the computation of the model update through a matrix‐free conjugate gradient solution of the Newton linear system. We present a feasible implementation of this method for the full waveform inversion problem, based on a second‐order adjoint state formulation for the computation of Hessian‐vector products. We compare this method with conventional methods within the context of 2D acoustic frequency full waveform inversion for the reconstruction of P‐wave velocity models. Two test cases are investigated. The first is the synthetic BP 2004 model, representative of the Gulf of Mexico geology with high velocity contrasts associated with the presence of salt structures. The second is a 2D real data‐set from the Valhall oil field in North sea. Although, from a computational cost point of view, the truncated Newton method appears to be more expensive than conventional optimization algorithms, the results emphasize its increased robustness. A better reconstruction of the P‐wave velocity model is provided when energetic multiple reflections make it difficult to interpret the seismic data. A better trade‐off between regularization and resolution is obtained when noise contamination of the data requires one to regularize the solution of the inverse problem.
Unravelling the annual cycle in a migratory animal: breeding‐season habitat loss drives population declines of monarch butterflies
Authors: Flockhart D. T. Tyler , Pichancourt Jean‐Baptiste , Norris D. Ryan , Martin Tara G.
Published: June 2014

Threats to migratory animals can occur at multiple periods of the annual cycle that are separated by thousands of kilometres and span international borders. Populations of the iconic monarch butterfly (Danaus plexippus) of eastern North America have declined over the last 21 years. Three hypotheses have been posed to explain the decline: habitat loss on the overwintering grounds in Mexico, habitat loss on the breeding grounds in the United States and Canada, and extreme weather events.

Our objectives were to assess population viability, determine which life stage, season and geographical region are contributing the most to population dynamics and test the three hypotheses that explain the observed population decline.

We developed a spatially structured, stochastic and density‐dependent periodic projection matrix model that integrates patterns of migratory connectivity and demographic vital rates across the annual cycle. We used perturbation analysis to determine the sensitivity of population abundance to changes in vital rate among life stages, seasons and geographical regions. Next, we compared the singular effects of each threat to the full model where all factors operate concurrently. Finally, we generated predictions to assess the risk of host plant loss as a result of genetically modified crops on current and future monarch butterfly population size and extinction probability.

Our year‐round population model predicted population declines of 14% and a quasi‐extinction probability (<1000 individuals) >5% within a century. Monarch abundance was more than four times more sensitive to perturbations of vital rates on the breeding grounds than on the wintering grounds. Simulations that considered only forest loss or climate change in Mexico predicted higher population sizes compared to milkweed declines on the breeding grounds. Our model predictions also suggest that mitigating the negative effects of genetically modified crops results in higher population size and lower extinction risk.

Recent population declines stem from reduction in milkweed host plants in the United States that arise from increasing adoption of genetically modified crops and land‐use change, not from climate change or degradation of forest habitats in Mexico. Therefore, reducing the negative effects of host plant loss on the breeding grounds is the top conservation priority to slow or halt future population declines of monarch butterflies in North America.
Does successful ovule development depend on its position within the pod? Examples from Neotropical Fabaceae
Authors: Silveira Fernando Augusto Oliveira , Fuzessy Lisieux Franco
Published: June 2014

Previous studies have shown a nonrandom pattern of ovule fate probabilities according to ovule position in legume pods. Here, we tested how ovule position within the pods of two Fabaceae affects its fate. We expected higher proportion of well‐formed seeds near the fruit tips and of unfertilized and aborted ovules near fruit bases. We collected pods of Poincianella pyramidalis and Anandenanthera colubrina in a seasonal dry forest in northeastern Brazil and recorded total pod length and ovule number, position, and fate (unfertilized, well formed, aborted, and predated). The proportion of well‐formed ovules at fruit tips was significantly higher than at fruit bases in P. pyramidalis. The opposite pattern was found for unfertilized and aborted ovules, thus corroborating our hypothesis. However, the probability of seed predation in A. colubrina was significantly higher in pod tips, thus providing moderate support for our hypotheses. Interspecific differences in the patterns of ovule fate are likely to be driven by species pollination systems.
EDENetworks: A user‐friendly software to build and analyse networks in biogeography, ecology and population genetics
Authors: Kivelä Mikko , Arnaud‐Haond Sophie , Saramäki Jari
Published: June 2014

The recent application of graph‐based network theory analysis to biogeography, community ecology and population genetics has created a need for user‐friendly software, which would allow a wider accessibility to and adaptation of these methods. EDENetworks aims to fill this void by providing an easy‐to‐use interface for the whole analysis pipeline of ecological and evolutionary networks starting from matrices of species distributions, genotypes, bacterial OTUs or populations characterized genetically. The user can choose between several different ecological distance metrics, such as Bray‐Curtis or Sorensen distance, or population genetic metrics such as FST or Goldstein distances, to turn the raw data into a distance/dissimilarity matrix. This matrix is then transformed into a network by manual or automatic thresholding based on percolation theory or by building the minimum spanning tree. The networks can be visualized along with auxiliary data and analysed with various metrics such as degree, clustering coefficient, assortativity and betweenness centrality. The statistical significance of the results can be estimated either by resampling the original biological data or by null models based on permutations of the data.
Early Postpartum Breast‐Feeding Outcomes and Breast‐Feeding Self‐Efficacy in Turkish Mothers Undergoing Vaginal Birth or Cesarean Birth With Different Types of Anesthesia
Authors: Alus Tokat Merlinda , Serçekuş Pinar , Yenal Kerziban , Okumuş Hülya
Published: June 2014

Purpose

To compare the breast‐feeding outcomes and breast‐feeding self‐efficacy, in the first 24 postpartum hours, of mothers who underwent vaginal birth, cesarean birth with epidural anesthesia, and cesarean birth with general anesthesia.

Methods

A comparative study was conducted in Turkey. A total of 334 mothers participated. Data were evaluated through descriptive data form, breast‐feeding outcomes form, and the Breastfeeding Self‐Efficacy Scale.

Findings

It was observed that the mothers who had cesarean birth with general anesthesia experienced more breast‐feeding problems. With regard to breast‐feeding self‐efficacy, all the groups were similar.

Conclusion

For reducing breast‐feeding problems, nurses should provide more care and support to mothers undergoing cesarean birth. Therefore, the fact that the breast‐feeding self‐efficacy was similar among the groups might be related to culture.
Prazosin has low potency at α1A‐adrenoceptors and high potency at α1D‐adrenoceptors in rat vas deferens
Authors: Docherty J. R.
Published: June 2014

We have investigated α1‐adrenoceptor subtypes mediating contractions to noradrenaline in epididymal portions of rat vas deferens.

Contractions to noradrenaline were investigated in the absence or presence of the noradrenaline transporter blocker cocaine.

In the absence of cocaine, contractions to noradrenaline were potently antagonized by RS100329, but not by BMY7378, and so are mediated mainly by α1A‐adrenoceptors.

In the presence of cocaine, noradrenaline potency was increased, particularly in terms of low concentrations and phasic contractions. Contractions to low concentrations of noradrenaline in the presence of cocaine were resistant to RS100329 but potently antagonized by BMY7378, demonstrating that α1D‐adrenoceptors are additionally involved in contractions amplified by cocaine.

In the absence of cocaine, prazosin exhibited relatively low potency as an antagonist against the α1A‐adrenoceptor‐mediated component to the response. In the presence of cocaine, prazosin exhibited higher potency against the α1D‐adrenoceptor‐mediated component.

In conclusion, prazosin has previously unreported selectivity for α1D‐ over α1A‐adrenoceptors in functional studies of rat vas deferens. Contractions of rat vas deferens are mediated by α1A‐ and α1D‐adrenoceptors. The range of prazosin potencies and of receptor subtypes previously reported in rat vas deferens may be explained by the presence of these two subtypes.
Intraoperative sentinel lymph node assessment in breast cancer: a comparison of rapid diagnostic method based on CK19 mRNA expression and imprint cytology
Authors: Pathmanathan Nirmala , Renthawa Jasveen , French James R. , Edstrom‐Elder Elizabeth , Hall Geoffrey , Mahajan Hema , Teh Christina , Bilous Michael A.
Published: June 2014

Background

Sentinel lymph node biopsy in breast cancer is a routine technique for staging the axilla. The two most common methods of intraoperative histopathological assessment, imprint cytology and frozen section, are hampered by poor sensitivity and lack standardized methodology. The one‐step nuclei acid amplification (OSNA) assay is a rapid quantification of cytokeratin 19 mRNA. This prospective study compared an existing intraoperative imprint cytology protocol with the OSNA system.

Methods

Of the 110 prospectively recruited patients, 98 met the inclusion criteria with a total of 170 lymph nodes. Intraoperative sentinel nodes were serially sectioned and imprints made of each cut surface for cytological assessment. Alternate slices were submitted for OSNA while the remaining slices were for final histopathological evaluation with six hematoxylin and eosin levels and one AE1/AE3 immunoperoxidase stain of each slice.

Results

On histopathological analysis, 24.5% of patients (16.5% of nodes) had sentinel node metastases and 3.1% (2.4%) had isolated tumour cells. With isolated tumour cells cases taken as negative, the sensitivity of imprint cytology and OSNA compared with histopathology were 66.7% on patient basis (71.4% on per‐node basis) and 95.8% (89.3%), respectively. One of 22 patients with macrometastases and two of three micrometastases were designated negative while five false‐positive nodes were identified with OSNA, likely due to tissue allocation bias.

Conclusion

The OSNA assay is highly sensitive in comparison with imprint cytology and may be used effectively in the intraoperative setting. Clinical follow‐up studies are warranted to further assess its use in routine practice.
Are anthropomorphic persuasive appeals effective? The role of the recipient's motivations
Authors: Tam Kim‐Pong
Published: June 2014

Anthropomorphic persuasive appeals are prevalent. However, their effectiveness has not been well studied. The present research addresses this issue with two experiments in the context of environmental persuasion. It shows that anthropomorphic messages, relative to non‐anthropomorphic ones, appear to motivate more conservation behaviour and elicit more favourable message responses only among recipients who have a strong need for effectance or social connection. Among recipients whose such need is weak, anthropomorphic appeals seem to backfire. These findings extend the research on motivation and persuasion and add evidence to the motivational bases of anthropomorphism. In addition, joining some recent studies, the present research highlights the implications of anthropomorphism of nature for environmental conservation efforts, and offers some practical suggestions for environmental persuasion.
Supporting Pakistani and Chinese families with young children: perspectives of mothers and health visitors
Authors: Hogg R. , de Kok B. , Netto G. , Hanley J. , Haycock‐Stuart E.
Published: June 2014

Background

In the UK, public health nurses (health visitors) provide support and advice to families with young children, including those from minority ethnic communities. While the need for cultural sensitivity is being increasingly recognized, the factors which contribute to this sensitivity are poorly understood. The Pakistani and Chinese communities constitute the two largest minority ethnic groups in Scotland. This study explored Pakistani and Chinese women's experience of motherhood and of the health visiting service and public health nurses' experiences of working with Chinese and Pakistani mothers.

Methods

Semi‐structured individual interviews were carried out with 16 Pakistani and 15 Chinese mothers. Eight health visitors took part in two focus groups. The study was undertaken in an urban area of Scotland. Data were analysed thematically.

Findings

Chinese and Pakistani mothers negotiate complex processes in order to ensure that their children maintain their own ethnic identity while fitting in with their peers in their adopted country. Health visitors were seen as supportive, although sometimes advice and information given was culturally inappropriate, and their role was often poorly understood. Health visitors were anxious to be sensitive to families' religious and cultural beliefs.

Conclusions

Cultural sensitivity is an important factor in providing appropriate advice and help to Pakistani and Chinese families, and involves health visitors in considering views and practices on parenting which may differ across cultures, including their own. Family characteristics need to be understood on an individual basis, rather than making assumptions about clients' cultural norms and lifestyles. This is best achieved by exploring with mothers if they understand the advice and information they are being offered and also if it is appropriate to their cultural and religious beliefs.
‘They're not witches. …’ Young children and their parents' perceptions and experiences of Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services
Authors: Bone C. , O'Reilly M. , Karim K. , Vostanis P.
Published: June 2014

Background

Recent initiatives have emphasized the ongoing need to include children in healthcare research, which is relevant to the development of both paediatric and mental healthcare services. Our aim was to contribute children and their parents' perceptions and experiences of Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS), with the objective of providing guidance for those wishing to improve inclusivity and empowerment.

Method

We performed a thematic analysis of interview data taken from 11 children (9 boys, 2 girls, aged 8–12) and their parents (12 mothers, 2 fathers), who had recently been referred to CAMHS for mental health and educational problems.

Results

Three core themes emerged from the data. Fear of the unknown refers to emotional apprehension due to uncertainty of what happens in CAMHS. However children also provided useful reassurances for future service users. Therapeutic engagement refers to the importance of being listened to and building up good relationships with professionals. Finally making services acceptable was discussed in terms of issues of accessibility, session tolerances and suggestions for the development of child‐centred services.

Conclusions

Children were able to provide potentially useful opinions of CAMHS. In a time of limited resources it is imperative that the voices of children and their parents are acknowledged in order to improve accessibility and experiences within CAMHS.
Calcitonin gene‐related peptide and vascular endothelial growth factor are expressed in lesional but not uninvolved skin in chronic spontaneous urticaria
Authors: Kay A. B. , Ying S. , Ardelean E. , Mlynek A. , Kita H. , Clark P. , Maurer M.
Published: June 2014

Background

The mechanisms for producing weals in chronic spontaneous (idiopathic) urticaria (CSU) are incompletely understood. Leucocyte infiltration with vascular leakage and expression of the potent vasoactive agents' calcitonin gene‐related peptide (CGRP) and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) are features of late‐phase allergic skin reactions, previously proposed as a model of CSU.

Objective

To measure CGRP and VEGF expression in lesional and non‐lesional skin from CSU patients and to compare results with a control group.

Methods

Eight paired biopsies (one from 4–8 h spontaneous weals and one from uninvolved skin) were taken from eight patients with CSU and nine control subjects and studied by immunohistochemistry and confocal microscopy.

Results

Lesional skin in CSU contained significantly more CGRP+ and VEGF+ cells than non‐lesional skin. No significant differences were observed in CGRP and VEGF expression between non‐lesional skin and controls. In lesional skin, VEGF and CGRP co‐localised to UEA‐1+ blood vessels. CGRP was also expressed by neutrophils and eosinophils and to a lesser extent by CD90+ fibroblasts, mast cells, CD3+ and CD68+ cells. CGRP and VEGF expression was not related to the duration of disease.

Conclusion and Clinical Relevance

Increased expression of CGRP and VEGF in lesional, but not uninvolved, skin indicates that these potent vasoactive agents may play a role in wealing and tissue oedema in CSU so representing novel targets in therapy.
A middle‐aged man with increasing body fat
Authors: Lam J. K. Y. , Lam K. S. L. , Chow W. S. , Tan K. C. B.
Published: June 2014

A 51‐year‐old man was referred for evaluation of gradual increase in body fat over bilateral arms, chest and abdomen for 6 months. He was a non‐smoker and he drank at least four bottles of beer daily since the age of 18. There was no significant past medical history or any family history of obesity or endocrine diseases. Physical examination showed localized large bulk of fat over the neck, both arms and mammary regions, abdomen, and back (Figs  and ). The lower limbs and buttock were relatively spared. There was telangiectasia over the face and chest wall, but no palmar erythema nor finger clubbing. The liver span was normal, and the spleen tip was palpated 2 cm below the costal margin. Examination of the cardiovascular, respiratory and neurological system was normal.

Localized large bulk of fat over both arms, mammary regions and abdomen.

figure

Localized large bulk of fat over mammary regions and abdomen.

figure

Blood tests showed thrombocytopenia (platelet 140 × 109 L−1 [normal: 170–380 × 109 L−1]) and liver function derangement (bilirubin 27 μmol L−1, ALP 298 U L−1, ALT 127 U L−1, AST 165 U L−1, GGT 1353 U L−1, albumin 33 g L−1 and globulin 42 g L−1). His clotting profile and renal functions were normal. His hepatitis B surface antigen was positive, but his HBV DNA was <60 copies per mL. Fasting glucose was 5.0 mmol L−1. HbA1c was 5.6%. His lipid profile was satisfactory with total cholesterol of 2.9 mmol L−1, triglycerides 1.0 mmol L−1, HDL‐C 1.37 mmol L−1 and LDL‐C 1.1 mmol L−1. Ultrasound of the abdomen showed normal‐sized liver with coarsened liver parenchymal echogenicity. The spleen was enlarged to 14 cm.

This middle‐aged man suffered from multiple symmetric lipomatosis and alcoholic liver disease. Dual‐energy X‐ray showed 1746 gm (40.1%), 1498 gm (32.8%) and 8322 gm (26.8%) fat over the left arm, right arm and trunk, respectively. The legs were unaffected with 1703 gm (19.4%) and 1627 gm (17.7%) fat over the left and right sides, respectively. The patient was advised to stop drinking and he declined surgical treatment.
Do founder size, genetic diversity and structure influence rates of expansion of North American grey squirrels in Europe?
Authors: Signorile A. L. , Wang J. , Lurz P. W. W. , Bertolino S. , Carbone C. , Reuman D. C.
Published: June 2014

Aim

This study investigates how founder size may affect local genetic diversity and spatial genetic structure of the invasive American eastern grey squirrel (Sciurus carolinensis) in European areas. It also examines whether dispersal propensity and invasion rate may be related to founder size, genetic diversity and structure.

Location

Piedmont, Italy; Northern Ireland, Northumberland and East Anglia, UK.

Methods

Across the invaded range in Europe, 315 squirrels from 14 locations, grouped in four areas, were sampled and examined at 12 highly polymorphic microsatellite loci. We estimated both genetic variation and population structure using AMOVA, Mantel tests and Bayesian analysis. We also estimated migration rates and range expansion rates.

Results

Genetic diversity varied in accordance with numbers of founders across populations. For instance, the Italian population had the smallest founder size and lowest genetic variability, whereas Northumberland had high values for both. Significant levels of genetic differentiation were observed in all the examined regions. Gene flow, migration and population range expansion rate were also higher in England and Ireland than in Italy.

Main conclusions

Populations descending from human‐mediated releases of few individuals were more genetically depauperate and more differentiated than populations established from a greater number of founders. Propagule pressure is therefore a significant factor in squirrel invasions. There is a trend whereby larger founder sizes were associated with greater genetic diversity, more dispersal, less local genetic differentiation and faster range expansion rate in squirrels. These findings have important management implications for controlling spread rate of squirrels and other invasive species: good practice should prioritize preventing further releases and the merging of genetically distinct populations as these events can augment genetic diversity.
Mecro‐Economic Voting: Local Information and Micro‐Perceptions of the Macro‐Economy
Authors: Ansolabehere Stephen , Meredith Marc , Snowberg Erik
Published: June 2014

We develop an incomplete information theory of economic voting, where voters' information about macro‐economic performance is determined by the economic conditions of people similar to themselves. We test our theory using both cross‐sectional and time‐series survey data. A novel survey instrument that asks respondents their numerical assessment of the unemployment rate confirms that individuals' economic information responds to the economic conditions of people similar to themselves. Furthermore, these assessments are correlated with individuals' vote choices. We also show in time‐series data that state unemployment robustly correlates with evaluations of national economic conditions, and presidential support.