bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Immunohistochemistry-based taxonomical classification of bladder cancer predicts response to neoadjuvant chemotherapy
Authors: Font A. , Domènech M. , Benítez R. , Rava M. , Marqués M. , Ramírez J. L. , Pineda S. , Domínguez S. , Gago J. L. , Badal J. , Carrato C. , López H. , Quer A. , Castellano D. , Malats N. , Real F.X
Published: August 2019

Platinum-based neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC) increases the survival of patients with organ-confined urothelial bladder cancer (UBC). Because not all patients benefit from treatment, NAC has not been widely applied in the clinical setting. There is strong evidence, based on retrospective studies, that patients with Basal/Squamous (BASQ)-like tumours present with more advanced disease and have worse prognosis; global transcriptomics can identify tumour subtypes associated with response to NAC. We aimed to investigate whether tumour immunohistochemical (IHC) subtyping predicts NAC response. Patients with muscle-invasive UBC having received platinum-based NAC were identified in two hospitals in Spain. Tissue microarrays were constructed; RNA and DNA were extracted from full sections. Nanostring analysis and immunohistochemistry to identify BASQ-like tumours and mutational analysis of UBC oncogenes. We used hierarchical clustering to classify 126 tumours and adjusted logistic regression to assess association with treatment response. Outcomes were progression-free survival and disease-specific survival; univariable and multivariate Cox regression models were applied. We found very high concordance between mRNA and protein for the 4 markers analyzed. We identified three main subgroups: BASQ-like (FOXA1/GATA3 low; KRT5/6/14 high), Luminal-like (FOXA1/GATA3 high; KRT5/6/14 low), and mixed-cluster (FOXA1/GATA3 high; KRT5/6 high; KRT14 low). Patients with BASQ-like tumours were more likely to achieve a pathological response to NAC, displaying a disease-specific survival similar to that of the remaining patients. In conclusion, patients with BASQ-like tumours - identified through simple and robust immunohistochemistry - have a higher likelihood of undergoing a pathological complete response to NAC. Prospective validation in independent series is required.

Novelty and impact

Neoadjuvant chemotherapy is an important component of the management of patietns with muscle-invasive bladder cancer but improved stratification is necessary. This retrospective study shows that patients with BASQ-like tumors can be identified using immunohistochemistry on paraffin-embedded tissue and are 4-fold more likely to achieve a pathological complete response to platinum-based NAC. The disease-specific survival of patients with BASQ-like tumours treated with NAC was not different from that of other tumour subtypes.
GUN1 influences the accumulation of NEP-dependent transcripts and chloroplast protein import in Arabidopsis cotyledons upon perturbation of chloroplast protein homeostasis
Authors: Tadini Luca , Peracchio Carlotta , Trotta Andrea , Colombo Monica , Mancini Ilaria , Jeran Nicolaj , Costa Alex , Faoro Franco , Marsoni Milena , Vannini Candida , Aro Eva-Mari , Pesaresi Paolo
Published: August 2019

Correct chloroplast development and function require coordinated expression of chloroplast and nuclear genes. This is achieved through chloroplast signals that modulate nuclear gene expression in accordance with the chloroplast’s needs. Genetic evidence indicates that GUN1, a chloroplast-localized pentatricopeptide-repeat (PPR) protein with a C-terminal Small MutS-Related (SMR) domain, is involved in integrating multiple developmental and stress-related signals in both young seedlings and adult leaves. Recently, GUN1 was found to interact physically with factors involved in chloroplast protein homeostasis, and with enzymes of tetrapyrrole biosynthesis in adult leaves that function in various retrograde signaling pathways. Here we show that, following perturbation of chloroplast protein homeostasis i) by growth in lincomycin-containing medium, or ii) in mutants defective in either the FtsH protease complex (ftsh), plastid ribosome activity (prps21-1andprpl11-1) or plastid protein import and folding (cphsp70-1), GUN1 influences NEP-dependent transcript accumulation during cotyledon greening and also intervenes in chloroplast protein import.
Instabilities and Spatiotemporal Dynamics of Active Elastic Filaments
Authors: Fily Yaouen , Subramanian Priya , Schneider Tobias M. , Chelakkot Raghunath , Gopinath Arvind
Published: August 2019

Biological filaments driven by molecular motors tend to experience tangential propulsive forces also known as active follower forces. When such a filament encounters an obstacle, it deforms, which reorients its follower forces and alters its entire motion. If the filament pushes a cargo, the friction on the cargo can be enough to deform the filament, thus affecting the transport properties of the cargo. Motivated by cytoskeletal filament motility assays, we study the dynamic buckling instabilities of a two-dimensional slender elastic filament driven through a dissipative medium by tangential propulsive forces in the presence of obstacles or cargo. We observe two distinct instabilities. When the filament’s head is pinned or experiences significant translational but little rotational drag from its cargo, it buckles into a steadily rotating coiled state. When it is clamped or experiences both significant translational and rotational drag from its cargo, it buckles into a periodically beating, overall translating state. Using minimal analytically tractable models, linear stability theory, and fully non-linear computations, we study the onset of each buckling instability, characterize each buckled state, and map out the phase diagram of the system. Finally, we use particle-based Brownian dynamics simulations to show our main results are robust to moderate noise and steric repulsion. Overall, our results provide a unified framework to understand the dynamics of tangentially propelled filaments and filament-cargo assemblies.
Cell-of-Origin Analysis of Metastatic Gastric Cancer Uncovers the Origin of Inherent Intratumor Heterogeneity and a Fundamental Prognostic Signature
Authors: Wang Ruiping , Song Shumei , Harada Kazuto , Han Guangchun , Pizzi Melissa Pool , Zhao Meina , Tatlonghari Ghia , Zhang Shaojun , Wang Yuanxin , Zhao Shuangtao , Badgwell Brian D. , Murphy Mariela Blum , Shanbhag Namita , Estrella Jeannelyn S. , Roy-Chowdhuri Sinchita , Abdelhakeem Ahmed Adel Fouad , Peng Guang , Calin George A. , Hanash Samir , Lazar Alexander J. , Futreal Andrew , Ajani Jaffer A. , Wang Linghua
Published: August 2019

Intra-tumoral heterogeneity (ITH) is the fundamental property of cancer, however, the origin of ITH remains poorly understood. Here we performed single-cell RNA sequencing of peritoneal carcinomatosis (PC) from 20 patients with advanced gastric adenocarcinoma (GAC), constructed a transcriptome map of 45,048 PC cells, determined the cell-of-origin of each tumor cell, and incisively explored ITH of PC tumor cells at single-cell resolution. The links between cell-of-origin and ITH was illustrated at transcriptomic, genotypic, molecular, and phenotypic levels. This study characterized the origins of PC tumor cells that populate and thrive in the peritoneal cavity, uncovered the diversity in tumor cell-of-origins and defined it as a key determinant of ITH. Furthermore, cell-of-origin-based analysis classified PC into two cellular subtypes that were prognostic independent of clinical variables, and a 12-gene prognostic signature was then derived and validated in multiple large-scale GAC cohorts. The prognostic signature appears fundamental to GAC carcinogenesis/progression and could be practical for patient stratification.
Volume-wise analysis of fMRI time series allows accurate prediction of language lateralization
Authors: Wegrzyn Martin , Mertens Markus , Bien Christian G. , Woermann Friedrich G. , Labudda Kirsten
Published: August 2019

Using fMRI as a clinical tool, for example for lateralizing language, requires that it provides accurate results on the individual level. However, using a single voxel-wise activity map per patient limits how well the uncertainty associated with a decision can be estimated. Here, we explored how using a “volume-wise” analysis, where the lateralization of each time point of a patient’s fMRI session is evaluated independently, could support clinical decision making. Ninety-six patients with epilepsy who performed a language fMRI were analyzed retrospectively. Results from Wada testing were used as an indication of true language lateralization. Each patient’s 200 fMRI volumes were correlated with an independent template of prototypical lateralization. Depending on the strength of correlation with the template, each volume was classified as indicating either left-lateralized, bilateral or right-lateralized language. A decision about the patient’s language lateralization was then made based on how most volumes were classified. The results show that, using a simple majority vote, accuracies of 84% were reached in a sample of 63 patients with high-quality data. When 33 patients with datasets previously deemed inconclusive were added, the same accuracy was reached when more than 43% of a patient’s volumes were in agreement with each other. Increasing this cutoff to 51% volumes with agreeing classifications allowed for excluding all inconclusive cases and reaching accuracies over 90% for the remaining cases. Further increasing the cutoff to 65% agreeing volumes resulted in correct predictions for all remaining patients. The study confirms the usefulness of fMRI for language lateralization in patients with epilepsy, by demonstrating high accuracies. Furthermore, it illustrates how the diagnostic yield of individual volumes of fMRI data can be increased using simple similarity measures. The accuracy of our approach increased with the number of agreeing volumes, and thus allowed estimating the uncertainty associated with each individual diagnosis.
CODC: A copula based model to identify differential coexpression
Authors: Ray Sumanta , Lall Snehalika , Bandyopadhyay Sanghamitra
Published: August 2019

Differential coexpression has recently emerged as a new way to establish a fundamental difference in expression pattern among a group of genes between two populations. Earlier methods used some scoring techniques to detect changes in correlation patterns of a gene pair in two conditions. However, modeling differential coexpression by mean of finding differences in the dependence structure of the gene pair has hitherto not been carried out.

We exploit a copula-based framework to model differential coexpression between gene pair in two different conditions. The Copula is used to model the dependency between expression profiles of a gene pair. For a gene pair, the distance between two joint distributions produced by copula is served as differential coexpression. We used five pan-cancer TCGA RNA-Seq data to evaluate the model which outperforms the existing state-of-the-art. Moreover, the proposed model can detect a mild change in the coexpression pattern across two conditions. For noisy expression data, the proposed method performs well because of the popular scale-invariant property of copula. Additionally, we have identified differentially coexpressed modules by applying hierarchical clustering on the distance matrix. The identified modules are analyzed through Gene Ontology terms and KEGG pathway enrichment analysis.
Automated electron diffraction tomography – development and applications
Authors: Kolb Ute , Krysiak Yaşar , Plana-Ruiz Sergi
Published: August 2019

Electron diffraction tomography (EDT) has gained increasing interest, starting with the development of automated electron diffraction tomography (ADT) which enables the collection of three-dimensional electron diffraction data from nano-sized crystals suitable forab initiostructure analysis. A basic description of the ADT method, nowadays recognized as a reliable and established method, as well as its special features and general applicability to different transmission electron microscopes is provided. In addition, the usability of ADT for crystal structure analysis of single nano-sized crystals with and without special crystallographic features, such as twinning, modulations and disorder is demonstrated.
Structure analysis of materials at the order–disorder borderline using three-dimensional electron diffraction
Authors: Mugnaioli Enrico , Gorelik Tatiana E.
Published: August 2019

Diffuse scattering, observed as intensity distribution between the Bragg peaks, is associated with deviations from the average crystal structure, generally referred to as disorder. In many cases crystal defects are seen as unwanted perturbations of the periodic structure and therefore they are often ignored. Yet, when it comes to the structure analysis of nano-volumes, what electron crystallography is designed for, the significance of defects increases. Twinning and polytypic sequences are other perturbations from ideal crystal structure that are also commonly observed in nanocrystals. Here we present an overview of defect types and review some of the most prominent studies published on the analysis of defective nanocrystalline structures by means of three-dimensional electron diffraction.
Structural verification of a tetrahydrotetrazole compound
Authors: Breton Gary W. , Hahn Lauren A. , Martin Kenneth L.
Published: August 2019

Tetrahydrotetrazoles are five-membered-ring heterocycles containing four contiguous saturated nitrogen atoms. Very few examples of such compounds have been reported in the literature. Our previous attempt at the synthesis of a member of this class of compound suggested that the N—N bonds may be more labile than expected. This finding raised the question as to whether the structures of any of the previously reported tetrahydrotetrazoles had been properly assigned. We have reproduced the synthesis of a reported tetrahydrotetrazole, namely 1,2-di-tert-butyl 3-phenyl-1H,2H,3H,10bH-[1,2,3,4]tetrazolo[5,1-a]isoquinoline-1,2-dicarboxylate, C25H30N4O4, and have now confidently confirmed its structure via X-ray crystallography. However, while sufficiently stable in the crystal phase, we discovered that it remains very labile in solution (having a half-life of only 15 min at 20 °C in CDCl3). A tentative reaction pathway for its dissociation based on 1H NMR spectral evidence is provided.
A threefold superstructure of the anti-epileptic drug phenytoin sodium as a mixed methanol solvate hydrate
Authors: Shah Harsh S. , Chaturvedi Kaushalendra , Zeller Matthias , Bates Simon , Morris Kenneth
Published: August 2019

Phenytoin sodium, a salt of 5,5-diphenylimidazolidine-2,4-dione, or phenytoin, is commercially available in various dosage forms for its anti-epileptic properties to treat and prevent seizures. The title compound, poly[aquatris(μ3-4,4-diphenyl-2,5-dioxoimidazolidin-1-ido)trimethanoltrisodium(I)], [Na3(C15H11N2O2)3(CH4O)3(H2O)1.08]
n
, a methanol solvate and hydrate of phenytoin sodium, forms a modulated crystal structure that consists of a supercell made up of three close-to-identical repeat units. Each of the basic fragments consists of one phenytoin anion, a sodium cation, and either a methanol, or a methanol and a water molecule coordinated to the sodium ion, yielding a formula unit of Na(C15H11N2O2)(CH3OH)
x
(H2O)
y
for each of the three segments (x, y = 0 or 1; x + y = 1 or 2). Modulation along the b axis is introduced due to the presence or absence of water or methanol molecules at sodium and by the alternating torsion angles of one of the two phenytoin phenyl rings. Individual segments within the asymmetric unit are linked by covalent Na—O and Na—N bonds, with each sodium ion coordinated to one anionic amide N atom and three keto O atoms. The Na—N and one of the Na—O bonds connect (C15H11N2O2)·Na units along the modulation direction, creating an infinite [(C15H11N2O2)·Na]_{\infty} chain that is further stabilized by intramolecular N—H...O hydrogen bonding parallel to [010]. The second Na—O bond connects this chain with a symmetry-equivalent copy of itself created by a screw-axis operation, yielding double strands of [(C15H11N2O2)·Na]_{\infty} chains. Two of these double strands, propagating in opposite directions, constitute the content of the unit cell. Neighboring double strands are connected with each other to form layers perpendicular to the a axis, tethered together via O—H...O hydrogen bonds involving the water and methanol molecules. In addition to modulation, each of the repeat units also exhibits disorder of the modulated segments. Phenyl rings of each repeat unit are rotationally disordered, and sodium-coordinated methanol and water molecules are also positionally disordered and/or partially occupied. The solvated structure reported here, while not matching the patterns reported for any of the known forms of phenytoin sodium, does provide a first insight into the complications and complexities involved in resolving the structure of anhydrous phenytoin sodium.
Exploring information security education on social media use
Authors: Ma Shoufeng , Zhang Shixin , Li Geng , Wu Yi
Published: August 2019

Purpose

Based on the literature on information security (InfoSec) education and uses and gratifications theory, the purpose of this paper is to propose and test a research model to examine the impact of InfoSec education on social media usage.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors employed structural equation modeling to test the research model, with a survey data set of 293 valid subjects from a WeChat subscription about InfoSec education named secrecy view.

Findings

The results reveal the significant impacts of perceived content quality, perceived social influence and perceived entertainment on user satisfaction in the context of security education and social media. User satisfaction is significantly associated with user stickiness and security knowledge improvement. Additionally, the authors found that user’s security awareness moderated the effect of perceived entertainment on user satisfaction.

Research limitations/implications

Using a single sample might constrain the contributions of this study.

Practical implications

The authors suggest practical guidelines for InfoSec education on social media by enhancing perceived content quality. Moreover, due to diverse user attributes, the social media operators should recommend targeted content to different users.

Originality/value

This study contributes to studies on InfoSec education of social media usage and identifies factors that affect user satisfaction with social media. Furthermore, the study enriches the security education practices by uncovering differences in security awareness with regard to user satisfaction.
Seismic response analysis of frame with friction damper
Authors: Zhang Min , Wang Dongzhuo
Published: August 2019

Purpose

This paper aims to study the seismic response of frame structure with friction dampers.

Design/methodology/approach

The state equation of the structure subjected to the earthquake is presented and solved, from which the maximum drift and the interlayer drift angle of the floors of the structure subjected to the seismic waves of four types of sites are analyzed.

Findings

The result indicates that the damping effect is significant on the floors with the friction damper but is almost little influence on the other floor.

Originality/value

The result indicates that the damping effect is significant on the floors with the friction damper but is almost little influence on the other floor.
Accurate arc: to grow or not to grow?
Authors: Seth Neha , Singhania Monica
Published: August 2019

Learning outcomes

The purpose of this paper is to understand the situation of Accurate and then to consider possible options for Accurate to face competition in future. Several opportunities are also linked with certain drawbacks and hence by studying the entire mechanism, the decision makers of Accurate may decide on its future direction and how to go about it.

Case overview/synopsis

Accurate Weld Arc was established in New Delhi in 1993, his son. The company focused on manufacturing wire drawings and selling to niche customer segment. Due to this, they were operating at a modest turnover. At this juncture, the organization took two critical decisions, first, to enter the welding electrodes market which had a bigger target segment, and second, to hire a Marketing Head who conducted an extensive marketing research to recognize the need of customers and to identify differentiating factors for the organization. Later, the company made further investment in middle-gauge welding electrodes and its turnover climbed in the first year. After that, the company had set up a manufacturing unit in Raipur, Chattisgarh which generated huge profit and is now looking forward to spread its wings in other parts of the country.

Complexity academic level

This case may be used for postgraduate students, who are doing their specialization in finance and accounting.

Supplementary materials

Teaching Notes are available for educators only. Please contact your library to gain login details or email support@emeraldinsight.com to request teaching notes.

Subject code

CSS 1: Accounting and Finance
Analysis of housing prices in Petaling district, Malaysia using functional relationship model
Authors: Chang Yun Fah , Choong Wei Cheng , Looi Sing Yan , Pan Wei Yeing , Goh Hong Lip
Published: August 2019

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to analyse and predict the housing prices in Petaling district, Malaysia and its six sub-regions with a set of housing attributes using functional relationship model.

Design/methodology/approach

A new multiple unreplicated linear functional relationship model with both the response and explanatory variables are subject to errors is proposed. A total of 41,750 housing transacted records from November 2008 to February 2016 were used in this study. These data were divided into 70% training and 30% testing sets for each of the selected sub-regions. Individual housing price was regressed on nine housing attributes.

Findings

The results showed the proposed model has better fitting ability and prediction accuracy as compared to the hedonic model or multiple linear regression. The proposed model achieved at least 20% and 40% of predictions that have less than 5% and 10% deviations from the actual transacted housing prices, respectively. House buyers in these sub-regions showed similar preferences on most of the housing attributes, except for residents in Shah Alam who preferred to stay far away from shopping malls, and leasehold houses in Sri Kembangan are more valuable. From the h-nearest houses indicator, it is concluded that the housing market in Sungai Buloh is the most volatile in Petaling District.

Research limitations/implications

As the data used are the actual housing transaction records in Petaling District, it represents only a segment of Malaysian urban population. The result will not be generalized to the entire Malaysian population.

Practical implications

This study is expected to provide insights to policymakers, property developers and investors to understand the volatility of the housing market and the influence of determinants in different sub-regions. The potential house buyers could also use the model to determine if a house is overpriced.

Originality/value

This study introduces measurement errors into the housing attributes to provide a more reliable analysis tool for the housing market. This study is the first housing research in Malaysia that used a large number of actual housing transaction records. Previous studies relied on small survey samples.
Supply chain relational capital and the bullwhip effect
Authors: Zhao Rong , Mashruwala Raj , Pandit Shailendra , Balakrishnan Jaydeep
Published: August 2019

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to conduct a large-sample empirical investigation of how relational capital impacts bullwhip at the supplier.

Design/methodology/approach

The study uses mandatory disclosures in regulatory filings of US firms to identify a supplier’s major customers and constructs empirical proxies of supply chain relational capital, i.e., length of the relationship between suppliers and customers and partner interdependence. Multivariate regression analyses are performed to examine the effects of relational capital on bullwhip at the supplier.

Findings

The findings show that bullwhip at the supplier is greater when customers are more dependent on their suppliers, but is reduced when suppliers share longer relationships with their customers. The results also provide additional insights on several firm characteristics that impact supplier bullwhip, including shocks in order backlog, selling intensity and variations in profit margins. Furthermore, the authors document that the effect of supply chain relationships on bullwhip tends to vary across industries and over time.

Originality/value

The study employs a novel data set that is constructed using firms’ financial disclosures. This large panel data set consisting of 13,993 observations over 36 years enables thorough and robust analyses to characterize supply chain relationships and gain a deeper understanding of their impact on bullwhip.
Workers’ willingness to delay retirement in exchange for temporary paid leaves
Authors: Alfageme Alfredo , García-Pastor Begoña , Seguí-Cosme Salvador
Published: August 2019

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to explore the factors influencing the willingness to benefit from temporary leave (TL), a life-course policy consisting of the entitlement to temporary paid leaves from work in exchange for delayed retirement.

Design/methodology/approach

A survey has been conducted amongst the occupied workforce of a medium-sized Spanish town, fairly characteristic of European urban environments in terms of its labour-force composition. The factors predisposing to TL are probed by means of a multivariate analysis (binary logistic regression). The analysis is framed in an age-gender perspective.

Findings

The noteworthy favourable predisposition towards TL emerging from the survey, mainly for the purposes of caring for children and parents, studying and preparing for a new job, appears mostly influenced by the educational level and by the fact of having or not children, without clear sex variations.

Originality/value

Notwithstanding the local scope of the survey, its results might orientate future research on TL, which is an emerging policy issue crosscutting several widely recognised social-policy targets within the European Union, such as the extension of working life, lifelong learning and gender equality throughout the life course.
Lifestyle entrepreneurs in winemaking
Authors: Dominici Andrea , Boncinelli Fabio , Marone Enrico
Published: August 2019

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to investigate non-pecuniary motivations and benefits of involvement in the wine business. Combining these motives with winery owners’ characteristics, attitudes and implemented strategies, the aim is to identify different winery owners’ styles in small-medium family-run firms.

Design/methodology/approach

The applied method is a qualitative explorative study involving in-depth interviews with Tuscan winery owners. They have hands-on involvement in the winemaking process, own a family business and supervise all of the production phases, from grape growing to bottling.

Findings

The study highlights the key role of non-economic motivations for winery owners. Passion, independence and a desire to live close to nature are predominant compared to pecuniary motivations, such as profit maximization. Therefore, the “lifestyle-oriented” style, characterized especially by the achievement of non-pecuniary benefits, represents the prevailing style amongst the interviewed winery owners, in contrast to the “business-oriented” style, which features typical producers described by mainstream economic theory.

Originality/value

The findings of this study are pivotal because they can facilitate a better understanding of how family-run wineries make decisions related to, e.g. firm size, staff management, product quality, exports and sustainability.
Analysis of cryptocurrency’s characteristics in four perspectives
Authors: Yuneline Mirza Hedismarlina
Published: August 2019

Purpose

The innovation of cryptography technique and blockchain has made cryptocurrency an alternative medium of exchange due to its safety, transparency and cost effectiveness. But its main feature cannot be separated from the users who use cryptocurrency for their illegal transactions. There are several arguments related to the legality of cryptocurrency. The purpose of this paper is to analyze the nature of cryptocurrency based on characteristics of money, legal perspective, economic perspective and Sharia perspective.

Design/methodology/approach

In this study, the methodology used is descriptive with a qualitative approach. The object of this research is cryptocurrency. The data are secondary data obtained from peer-reviewed journal articles, conference papers review, working paper and Sharia consultant reports addressing the legality of cryptocurrency. The literature review analysis includes the following steps: material collection, descriptive analysis, discussion with people in Sharia competency and intuitive-subjective material evaluation.

Findings

Regarding the characteristic of money, cryptocurrency is acceptable. But in terms of the legal perspectives, cryptocurrency does not meet the criteria as currency. From the economic perspective, cryptocurrency does not fully meet the characteristic currency due to high price volatility, and from the Sharia perspective, cryptocurrency can be considered property (mal) but not as a monetary value (thamanniyah).

Research limitations/implications

The research findings are based on the journal articles, working paper and Sharia consultant report, and it may lack Sharia’s opinion. Any further discussion related to Sharia perspectives will be a great input to enrich the study.

Practical implications

This study also includes the implications related to the opportunities and the risks of cryptocurrency that can be discussed for the development of the cryptocurrency in the future.

Social implications

This study includes the implication cryptocurrency is using as nature of money and not as speculative instrument.

Originality/value

This study argued the legality of cryptocurrency in four perspectives such as the nature of money, legal, economy and Sharia perspective.
Identification of best reverse value chain alternatives
Authors: Paras Manoj Kumar , Curteza Antonela , Varshneya Geetika
Published: August 2019

Purpose

Undesired changes in the environment and reduction of natural resources have necessitated the need for environmental protection and resource conservation. Textile and clothing industry is the second largest (after food) industry. Therefore, there is a need to protect the environment by reducing the use of natural resources. The purpose of this paper is to explore and identify the best reverse value chain alternatives for the clothing industry.

Design/methodology/approach

An exploratory study is undertaken at six organizations working in the area of used clothes. The data were collected with the help of semi-structured interviews and a questionnaire, for the analytical hierarchy process analysis. The information from other sources such documents, websites, and reports was also gathered to strengthen the findings.

Findings

There are different reverse value chain methods to minimize the use of natural resources such as direct reuse, upcycling and downcycling. Incineration and landfill can be considered as the last options. The selection of best reverse value chain method is a multi-criteria value decision-making problem, as this involves complex decision parameters.

Practical implications

The industry practitioners can use the above model and results to make end-of-life decisions.

Originality/value

This paper develops a model on the basis of the analytic hierarchy process to determine the best method to close the loop of the clothing value chain. On the basis of the result and analysis, upcycling emerged to be the best alternative to close the loop of the clothing industry.
The MAYA principle as applied to apparel products
Authors: Ceballos Lina M. , Hodges Nancy Nelson , Watchravesringkan Kittichai
Published: August 2019

Purpose

There are numerous design principles that can guide strategic decisions and determine good product design. One principle that has received considerable attention in the literature is the MAYA principle, which suggests that consumers seek a balance of typicality and novelty in products. The purpose of this paper is to test the MAYA principle specific to various categories of apparel. By drawing from the MAYA principle as a two-factor theory, the effects of specific aesthetic properties (i.e. typicality and novelty) of apparel products on consumer response were examined.

Design/methodology/approach

An experimental design in three phases was implemented.

Findings

Results revealed that typicality is the primary predictor of aesthetic preference relative to pants and jackets, while both typicality and novelty are significant predictors of aesthetic preference relative to shirts, suggesting that the MAYA principle better explains aesthetic preference relative to shirts.

Research limitations/implications

Understanding consumers’ reactions to product design provides potential value for academics as well as practitioners.

Practical implications

Consideration of both aesthetic properties is needed when implementing the MAYA principle in apparel design.

Originality/value

Although studies have examined the MAYA principle relative to consumer products, few have examined how the principle operates relative to apparel products. The definition of a design principle, such as the MAYA principle, assumes that the logic proposed should apply to all types of products. Yet, this empirical study reveals that this is not the case when applied across different apparel categories.
Cosmetics purchase behavior of educated millennial Muslim females
Authors: Ishak Suraiya , Che Omar Ahmad Raflis , Khalid Kartini , Ab. Ghafar Intan Safiena , Hussain Mohd Yusof
Published: August 2019

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to describe cosmetics purchase behavior of young, educated Muslim females in Malaysia and to explore its relationship with certain potential antecedents.

Design/methodology/approach

This study uses a survey on a sample of female consumers from four higher education institutions in the urban area of Bangi Selangor, Malaysia. From their respective institutions, 150 respondents were selected through the purposive sampling method. Self-administered questionnaire has been used to gather information from the respondents. The survey data were analyzed using descriptive, t-test and correlation analyses to accomplish the study objectives.

Findings

The study indicates that millennial Muslim cosmetic purchase behavior falls under the “Limited Decision Making” classification. The classification is due to the pattern of pro-active behaviors exhibit through the information search for details about ingredients, halal clue, countries of origin, health safety guarantee and the benefits of the cosmetic products. Young, educated female consumers adore branded cosmetic items and show willingness to accept higher prices for the branded items. Despite brand consciousness, they demonstrate a relatively high concern on the halalness of the product. Based on the correlation analysis, all variables were found to be significant and the most significant of them was brand.

Research limitations/implications

Millennial consumers are information technology savvy and have access to vast information about products. As a result, the findings reiterate that millennial consumers demonstrate different purchase behavior, which is worth exploring by future researchers. In addition, other latent antecedents such as religiosity and world view are worth including in future studies.

Practical implications

Cosmetic manufacturers and marketers must ensure that their products signal positive images to fit the expectations of young and educated Muslim consumers. Although brand conscious, such consumers demonstrate prudent behavior in terms of searching for halalan and toyyiban products.

Originality/value

This study adds value in the area of halal product marketing because of two unique focuses. First, it examines the purchase of cosmetic products, which are relatively understudied compared to halal food. Second, it considers the perspectives of educated Muslim millennials, who are expected to demonstrate more specific purchase behaviors than a generalized millennial group. Therefore, the originality of this study revolves around the consideration of these two aspects, which are relevant to contemporary business marketing discussions.
Prioritising the risks in Halal food supply chain: an MCDM approach
Authors: Khan Shahbaz , Khan Mohd Imran , Haleem Abid , Jami Abdur Rahman
Published: August 2019

Purpose

Risk in the Halal food supply chain is considered as the failure to deliver the product which complies with Halal standards. The purpose of this paper is to identify the risk elements associated with Halal food supply chains and prioritise them appropriately towards better management.

Design/methodology/approach

This research used a systematic literature review to identify various risk elements in the Halal food supply chain and consolidate them with the expertise of professionals and academicians. Further, the fuzzy analytic hierarchical process (fuzzy AHP) is applied to prioritise the identified risk elements.

Findings

The findings of the research suggest that “supply-related risks” are the most prominent risk. Raw material integrity issue is a vital element in the Halal food supply chain. The failure of the supplier to deliver material that complies with Halal standards reduces the industrial economic advantage. This study recommends that the integration of internal processes and outsourcing elements can mitigate the risk of the Halal food supply chain by having a holistic view of the processing and delivery of Halal foods.

Research limitations/implications

Systematic literature review and experts’ opinion are used to identify and consolidate risks. For the literature review, only the SCOPUS database is used; thus, there is a chance to overlook some risk elements. Additionally, the fuzzy AHP analysis depends on relative preference weight. Therefore, care should be taken while constructing a pairwise comparison matrix for risk elements.

Practical implications

The findings of the study can help the managers who have a holistic view on risk mitigation of the Halal food supply chain. This study may assist managers to share information about the processing of Halal food from top to bottom to manage risk.

Originality/value

This study may act as a baseline for undertaking future research in the area of risk management of the Halal food supply chain.
Councils’ environment management system: an isomorphism inquiry
Authors: Joseph Corina , Nichol Esmie Obrin , Jonathan Lulu
Published: August 2019

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to understand how external and internal drivers influence the implementation of the environment management system by selected local councils in Malaysia from the institutional theory and national culture perspectives.

Design/methodology/approach

This research used a multiple case study approach focusing on three selected Malaysian local councils. The data collection method included semi-structured interviews with officers directly involved in the environment management system implementation.

Findings

Organizations are more influenced by external rather than internal drivers in implementing the environment management system, and dominated by the normative pressure. This study offers insights into the effectiveness of the identified drivers in the environment management system implementation process, by relating to the type of conformance, either by “compliance” or “convergence.”

Research limitations/implications

This study demonstrates the effect of national culture on the isomorphic influences of the internal and external motivations by local councils to implement the environment management system, namely, large power distance, collectivism, short-term normative orientation, masculinity and uncertainty avoidance.

Practical implications

The outcomes can be useful to managers of local councils with responsibilities for environmental decision making.

Originality/value

Institutional theory and national culture values are used successfully to explain the implementation of the environment management system in the three selected Malaysian councils in this study, in line with the public sector reform agenda undertaken by the Malaysian Government.
The Supermodel Astronaut Challenge: traversing frames of mind
Authors: Glasser Leanne , Young Emily , Sameshima Pauline
Published: August 2019

Purpose

The Supermodel Astronaut (SMA) Challenge began with a group of women in a graduate class who joined together to take the pledge “I Am Enough.” The goals of the pledge are to practice positive affirmative actions of self-acceptance, self-grace, self-improvement and positive encouragement of oneself and others. The paper aims to discuss this issue.

Design/methodology/approach

The SMA Challenge involves an online video pledge to encourage women and girls to demonstrate their opposition to the promotion of singular ideals of body perpetuated through media. Various individuals and groups have created music videos titled SMA to the soundtrack created by Ellen Tift (the originator of the project).

Findings

Here, framed by Daignault’s (1983) theories on curriculum construction, the authors critically reflect on their support of the idea of the video, but also their apprehension and insecurities in participating in the video production.

Originality/value

From reflections, writings and dialogic discussions, they determined five embodied frames of mind that supported them in traversing the liminal space of new learning: imagining the possible, learning in doing, settling in vulnerability, journeying through empowerment and heightening self-reflection.
An empirical framework to study food labelling fraud: an application to the Italian extra‐virgin olive oil market
Authors: Bimbo Francesco , Bonanno Alessandro , Viscecchia Rosaria
Published: August 2019

The mislabelling of agricultural and food products is one of the most common types of food fraud. Despite the frequency with which labelling fraud occurs, there is no empirical framework to study its welfare implications, the probability that it may occur, and the measures that can limit its occurrence. We present an empirical framework to study the economic consequences of food labelling fraud in a differentiated products food market. Such framework requires the availability of sales data and the use of an ‘attribute‐space' demand model. The model is applied to the Italian extra‐virgin olive oil market to simulate the occurrence of fraudulent ‘100 per cent Italian' claims. Our results indicate that potential consumer losses due to overpayments for a false claim are higher than manufacturer gains, suggesting that labelling fraud results in welfare losses and not just in welfare transfers. Simulation results indicate that the level of the current administrative fines is not likely to be effective to discourage ‘100 per cent Italian' labelling fraud. Imposing larger fines or other measures negatively affecting a firm's image could be more effective in deterring labelling fraud.
Relationship Among Denture Status, Remaining Teeth Number, and Malnutrition in Patients With Chronic Kidney Disease
Authors: Sevmez Hatice , Bankoğlu Güngör Merve , Yeter Hasan , Erten Yasemin , Elbeg Şehri , Yılmaz Handan
Published: August 2019

The purpose of the present study was to evaluate the relationship among the denture status, number of remaining teeth, and malnutrition in patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD). Seventy‐three patients (43 men/30 women) who required hemodialysis were included in the study. Weight and height, Kt/V, urea reduction ratio, midweek interdialytic weight gain, ultrafiltration volume, and erythropoietin dosage were determined for all patients. Laboratory measurements and predialysis blood samples for biomarkers were collected within the monthly routine tests. Dental examination focused on the denture status and total number of remaining teeth. Denture status were classified into two groups as prosthesis group (patients have prosthesis) and no prosthesis group (patients do not have any kind of prosthesis). And also, patients were assigned to one of four categories based on the number of remaining natural teeth: (i) edentulous, (ii) 1–7 teeth, (iii) 8–19 teeth, and (iv) >20 teeth. The data were statistically analyzed (a = 0.05). Body mass index values were increased in the prosthesis patients. Serum albumin levels of the CKD patients were under the reference value (3.8 g/dL) both in prosthesis and no prosthesis groups. Patients who have eight and more teeth showed higher serum albumin levels, and patients who had 1–7 teeth showed lower serum albumin levels in prosthesis group. CKD patients’ nutritional habits were affected by denture status (having prosthesis or not). The number of the remaining teeth in prosthesis group affected the serum albumin levels of CKD patients.
Effect of Improving Volume Overload on Home Blood Pressure Variability in Hemodialysis Patients
Authors: Chen Ziye , Liu Jing , Sun Fang , Shen Yang , Ma Lijie , Zhou Yilun
Published: August 2019

Blood pressure variability is an independent predictor of adverse clinical events in hemodialysis patients. Volume overload is one of the most important factors affecting blood pressure homeostasis. In the present study, we explored the effects of dry weight reduction on home blood pressure variability in volume overload hemodialysis patients. Hemodialysis patients with volume overload had their dry weight gradually decreased under the guidance of bioimpedance methods, which was represented by calf‐bioimpedance ratio (Calf‐BR). Home blood pressure was measured on waking up and at bedtime for 1 week at baseline and at the end of the two‐month study. Coefficient of variation was used to define home blood pressure variability. Thirty‐eight hemodialysis patients had their dry weight significantly decreased from 60.7 ± 11.3 to 59.6 ± 10.7 kg (P = 0.003) accompanied with a significant reduction in calf‐BR (0.828 ± 0.023 vs. 0.786 ± 0.020, P<0.001). The systolic and diastolic blood pressure decreased significantly. Moreover, the whole‐day, morning, and evening systolic blood pressure variability gradually and significantly decreased by the end of the study (5.6 ± 2.1% versus 4.0 ± 1.7%, P<0.001; 7.7 ± 3.5% vs. 6.3 ± 2.7%, P = 0.005; 7.5 ± 2.8% vs. 5.9 ± 2.3%, P = 0.002, respectively). Diastolic blood pressure variability parameters were unchanged. The interdialytic weight gain and the incidence of adverse events were similar throughout the study period. Gradual dry weight reduction by bioimpedance methods improved home blood pressure variability in hemodialysis patients with chronic fluid overload.