bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
The legitimising processes of a new regulator
Authors: Artiach Tracy , Irvine Helen , Mack Janet , Ryan Christine
Published: June 2016

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to strengthen the theoretical understanding of the processes through which a new regulator seeks to gain legitimacy within an existing regulatory space. The authors do this by investigating the case of the Australian Charities and Not-for-profit Commission (ACNC).

Design/methodology/approach

– Synthesising legitimacy theory with the concept of regulatory space, the authors analyse formal public discourse surrounding the establishment and operations of the ACNC.

Findings

– Regulation is essentially a context-bound political process in which a new regulator needs to establish legitimacy to ensure its survival. It must convince its constituents that it has developed processes to operate effectively and professionally in addressing constituents’ needs, to bargain authoritatively with other regulators in establishing its operational boundaries, and to engage politically with government and constituents. Over a relatively short time, the ACNC built legitimacy, despite the political threats to its formal regulatory authority.

Research limitations/implications

– The conclusions are based on the analysis of one case. There is scope for further investigations of the processes by which new regulators establish their legitimacy in different contexts.

Practical implications

– The potential for a political threat to the authority of a new regulator, and the difficulty of achieving regulatory reform, particularly in a federated system such as Australia, highlight the necessity for a new regulator to develop a compelling discourse of legitimacy.

Originality/value

– The authors synthesise regulatory space and legitimacy perspectives, contributing to an understanding of the processes of regulation.
Enterprise education in pharmacy schools
Authors: Refai Deema , Klapper Rita
Published: June 2016

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to investigate implementation of enterprise education (EE) through experiential learning, and its relevance to pharmacy education in the UK Higher Education Institutions.

Design/methodology/approach

– The paper characterises the state of pharmacy EE using Fayolle’s (2013) generic teaching model in EE and Kolb’s (1984) experiential learning theory as underlying conceptual and theoretical frameworks. The paper focuses on how EE takes place through approaches employed within experiential learning to develop graduates’ enterprise skills, and investigate the challenges faced within institutional contexts. The paper draws on qualitative empirical approach using the social constructionist paradigm to investigate experiences of pharmacy academics.

Findings

– The study identifies four Aspects of Experiential Learning in the context of EE (AELEE), which extend both Fayolle’s and Kolb’s frameworks.

Research limitations/implications

– The research focuses solely on views of academics in UK pharmacy schools, and is of qualitative nature. This could limit the generalisability of results, yet also offer deeper sector-specific insight into EE.

Practical implications

– Findings provide insights into the difficulty of positioning EE in non-business schools and the hurdles academics face. Findings are expected to encourage enterprise educators to design EE programmes that consider the institutional context.

Originality/value

– The research makes a significant contribution to existing EE literature with its non-business sector specificity and its focus on academics. Hence, the study responds to Fayolle’s (2013) call for more research into EE with focus on the educator, and deeper connections between EE and education literature.
Low-wealth entrepreneurs and access to external financing
Authors: Frid Casey J , Wyman David M , Gartner William B. , Hechavarria Diana H
Published: June 2016

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to explore the relationship between low-wealth business founders in the USA and external startup funding. Specifically, the authors test whether a founders’ low personal net worth is correlated with a lower probability of acquiring funding from outside sources during the business creation process.

Design/methodology/approach

– The authors use a double-hurdle Cragg model to jointly estimate: first, the decision to acquire external financing; and second, the amount received. The sample is the US-based Panel Study of Entrepreneurial Dynamics II (PSED II). The PSED II tracks business founders attempting to start ventures from 2005 to 2012.

Findings

– Receipt of outside financing during business formation is largely determined by the business founder’s personal finances (controlling for human capital, venture type and industry, and whether money was sought in the first place). A higher household net worth results in larger amounts of external funding received. Low-wealth business founders, therefore, are less likely to get external funds, and they receive lower amounts when they do. The disparity between low-and high-wealth business founders is more pronounced for formal, monitored sources of external financing such as bank loans.

Research limitations/implications

– Because the study eliminates survivor bias by using a nationally representative sample of business founders who are in the venture creation process, the findings apply to both successful business founders and those who disengaged during the business creation process. The authors offer insights into the sources and amounts of external funds acquired by individuals across all levels of wealth. The authors accomplish this by disaggregating business founders into wealth quintiles. The study demonstrates the importance of personal wealth as a factor in acquiring external startup financing compared to human capital, industry, or personal characteristics.

Social implications

– If the ability to acquire external funding is significantly constrained, the quality of the opportunity and the skill of the business founder may be less a determinant of success at creating a new business as prior studies have suggested. Consequently, entrepreneurship (as measured by business formation) as a path toward upward, socioeconomic mobility will be afforded only to those individuals with sufficient financial endowments at the outset.

Originality/value

– Unlike prior studies, the data used are not subject to survivor bias or an underrepresentation of self-employment. The statistical model jointly estimates acquisition of financing and the amount received. This resolves selection and censoring problems. Finally, the dependent variables directly measure liquidity constraints in the context of business formation, that is, before a new venture is created. Prior research contexts have typically studied existing businesses, and are therefore not true examinations of conditions affecting business creation.
Design principles for the development of the balanced scorecard
Authors: Keser Ozmantar Zehra , Gedikoglu Tokay
Published: June 2016

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to investigate the development and implementation process of the balanced scorecard (BSC) approach in an educational institution in the context of the Turkish educational system. It also aims, on the basis of the results of the applications in a particular school, to define principles through which the development of BSC could be successfully achieved.

Design/methodology/approach

– The study adopts a design-based research method which provides a particularly useful approach to the solution of real problems in the field of education. The study was carried out in a private educational institution with 161 members of staff including managers, teachers and personnel of the support units. Scorecards for the institution as well as 161 members of staff were developed.

Findings

– The examination of the developmental process suggests 12 design principles: willingness to change; managerial support; flexible management structure; appropriate team members; training of staff; availability of strategic planning; distinctive BSC dimensions; smart strategic objectives; balance between leading and lagging indicators; developing individual scorecards; open communication system; structured report format.

Originality/value

– This is the first study that develops BSC for a school in a Turkish context. The design principles, the author believes, are particularly useful for schools that do not have a strategic performance management background. This study is also important in terms of putting forward the applicability of BSC in educational organizations in different cultures and thus gaining new insights about the developmental process of BSC.
Participation behaviour among international students
Authors: Elsharnouby Tamer H.
Published: June 2016

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to integrate service marketing and higher education (HE) literature to develop and test a model that links customer participation behaviour with student overall satisfaction that stems from satisfaction with service augmentation elements. It also examines the influence of brand choice attainment on both satisfaction and participation behaviour.

Design/methodology/approach

– Drawing on an empirical survey of 238 international students in UK universities, the model was tested using structural equation modelling.

Findings

– The findings reveal that not all service augmenters are equally important in creating student satisfaction. Campus life and maintenance augmenters are found to be the crucial elements in generating satisfaction for international students. The results also suggest that satisfied students are more likely to participate actively in co-producing the university services compared to dissatisfied students. The effect of brand choice attainment on participation behaviour is mediated by satisfaction.

Practical implications

– University administrations might need to prioritize their efforts to put more emphasis on some elements especially crucial for international students and could embellish or deplete the core of education services. The study provides a fresh perspective on segmenting international students based on their brand choice attainment. A superior university experience should be created, particularly for those who did not get into their preferred university, to overcome the disappointment of not studying at the preferred university.

Originality/value

– By synthesizing diverse concepts from research on services marketing, branding and HE, this paper contributes theoretically by extending the research on customer participation behaviour into the HE domain. It attempts to address a clear gap between how service literature and HE literature look at “service experience”. The study captures some missing aspects of the “service” in the HE sector (e.g. augmentation aspects). The study also takes the HE literature one step further by identifying the role of brand choice attainment in both satisfaction and students’ participation behaviour.
Bridging gaps between policies for sustainable markets and market practices
Authors: Mattsson Lars-Gunnar
Published: June 2016

Purpose

– The problem addressed is how policies to promote sustainable development may be implemented in market practice. The purpose of this paper is to present a conceptual framework on which further research on sustainable market practice can be based.

Design/methodology/approach

– Literature and conceptual analysis as regards sustainable development and policies to promote sustainable markets. Frameworks from theorizing about markets and about institutions.

Findings

– The context of policy initiatives aiming at sustainable development is characterized by substantial heterogeneity and is inherently conflictual and multidimensional. Stakeholders, NGOs, governments as well as market actors are involved in policy processes. A market practice perspective is suggested. Specific issues for research are how policy practice interacts with market practice and how sustainable markets actually perform sustainable development over time and space.

Practical implications

– Implications for how policy actors and market actors might act to bridge the gap by awareness of market shaping process in market practice.

Originality/value

– Contribution to holistic understanding of links between policies, market practice and sustainable development.
The effect of online social networks and competency-based management on innovation capability
Authors: Palacios-Marqués Daniel , Popa Simona , Pilar Alguacil Mari María
Published: June 2016

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to explore the effect of online social networks and competency-based management on innovation capability.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper is theory-confirming. Theoretical relationships were tested using an empirical study of 289 firms from the Spanish biotechnology and telecommunications industries.

Findings

Results confirm that online social network use for internal cognitive processes (e.g. reading, searching and storing information) and external cognitive processes (e.g. sharing and co-creating knowledge) positively affects knowledge transfer. This knowledge helps firms to achieve superior competency in R&D to succeed in innovation programs.

Research Limitations/implications

All survey respondents were from Spain, which may limit the generalizability of findings. A longitudinal approach was not used. However, doing so would make it possible to explore time lags between online social network use, competency-based management and innovation.

Practical Implications

This paper highlights the potential as well as the limitations of online social networks and competency-based management in promoting innovation capability. Businesses must consciously manage the assimilation and use of online social networks to benefit from them.

Originality/value

The study contributes to the literature by identifying effects on innovation capability at the meso-level (i.e. online social networks). Findings highlight the need for a shift in focus away from collaborating and interacting in online social networks (micro-level) and organizational contexts (macro-level) so as to improve innovation capability.
IT innovation strategy: managing the implementation communication and its generated knowledge through the use of an ICT tool
Authors: Landaeta Olivo José Francisco , García Guzmán Javier , Colomo-Palacios Ricardo , Stantchev Vladimir
Published: June 2016

Purpose

Without effective implementation, no information technology (IT) strategy can succeed. There has been much re-search into IT planning, but few studies have developed one of the most important phases of IT strategy: IT Implementation. IT implementation can be improved at information and communication technology (ICT) organizations through the use of organization learning models (OLM) and the implementation of ICT tools. This paper has two purposes define an OLM framework that determines the best practices to increase knowledge at individual, group and/organizational levels, and define and implement an ICT tool to facilitate the integration and institutionalization of the OLM. The ICT tool is based on the technology roadmapping technique that allows an organization to manage at an executive level what, when and how the IT strategy is going to be implemented.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper is based on a case study performed at an ICT organization that provides ICT services to financial institutions. The study was carried out in 2014. It analyzed over 24,000 projects, which translated into an equivalent of more than 18 million man-hours. The proposal was assessed at a very large ICT organization.

Findings

This paper proposes a framework called SPIDER to effectively implement OLMs based on Big Data management principles for monitoring and reporting current status of IT innovation strategies. These kinds of approaches contribute to solve the problems identified in the state-of-the-art regarding the communication and monitoring the implementation status of IT innovation strategies. During this research work, several factors that are essential to implement these kinds of approaches in large banking organizations were identified: effort required to elaborate the monitoring and reporting activities; easiness to understand the reported information; detailed planning of the implementation program; and focus on communication efficiency.

Originality/value

This paper determined the best practices to manage knowledge generated during the implementation of an IT strategy. Additionally, this paper defined and implemented an ICT tool to properly communicate and monitor the implementation of an IT innovation strategy, based on technological roadmap techniques.
Web GIS to enhance relational capital: the case of general merchandise retailers
Authors: Baños Raul , Wandosell Gonzalo , Parra María Concepción
Published: June 2016

Purpose

This paper aims to study the impact of information and communication technologies in organizations to capture and manage intellectual capital. The paper focuses particularly on the use of Web-based geographical information systems (Web GIS) to increase relational capital.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper analyzes in detail the Web sites of 143 general merchandise retailers, which have been grouped according to their dominant operational format. Menus and search tools have been used to find out about the way in which these retailers provide information to the customers about their stores, with special attention to the use of Web GIS.

Findings

The results obtained show that most of the companies analyzed use Web GIS to provide information about the location and other characteristics of the stores. The findings in this paper also suggest that the quantity and quality of the information provided by is somewhat related to the company size.

Research limitations/implications

The limitations of this study come from the difficulty of predicting whether small and medium enterprises (SMEs) will generalize the use of Web GIS in the future.

Practical implications

The findings of the paper suggest that large retail firms have adopted Web GIS to provide information to the customers and for other geomarketing purposes. Moreover, SMEs should use Web GIS to improve their relationship with customers.

Originality/value

To the authors’ knowledge, no paper has analyzed in detail the use of Web GIS by companies with the aim of enhancing relational capital.
Natural antioxidants: sources, extraction and application in food systems
Authors: Sardarodiyan Maryam , Mohamadi Sani Ali
Published: June 2016

Purpose

The study aims to describe the main classes of antioxidants existing in fruit, beverages, vegetables and herbs and the different extraction and application of antioxidants in food. Oxidative degradation of lipids, especially induced by reactive oxygen species, leads to quality deterioration of foods and cosmetics and could have harmful effects on health. A major challenge is to develop tools to assess the antioxidant capacity and real efficacy of these molecules. Recently, many review papers regarding antioxidants from different sources and different extraction and quantification procedures have been published. However, none of them has all the information regarding antioxidants (sources, extraction and application in food).

Design/methodology/approach

This paper tries to take a different perspective on antioxidants for the new researcher involved in this field.

Findings

Antioxidants from fruit, vegetables and beverages play an important role in human health, for example, preventing cancer and cardiovascular diseases and lowering the incidence of different diseases. A number of plant products act as scavengers of free radical species and so have been classified as antioxidants. Antioxidants are an important group of food additives that have the ability to protect against detrimental change of oxidizable nutrients and consequently they extend shelf-life of foods.

Research limitations/implications

Most of the antioxidants present in foods are phenolic and polyphenolic compounds, but their efficacy in food for the prevention of oxidation or in the body for dealing with oxidative stress and its consequences depends on different factors.

Originality/value

This study collected the last finding in the field of sources and applications of natural antioxidants.
Ready-to-drink non-alcoholic beverages
Authors: Yang Chun-Shun , Ford Pauline , Liu Xiaoman , Leishman Shaneen , Schubert Lisa
Published: June 2016

Purpose

The appearance of a rapidly expanding range of ready-to-drink packaged beverages in the marketplace has been met with widespread consumer acceptance. The aim of this study is to profile the nutritional composition and dental erosive potential of a sample of beverages sold for consumption in Brisbane supermarkets.

Design/methodology/approach

In all, 44 beverages were assessed to determine their pH and titratable acidity. Information relating to nutritional composition was also collected.

Findings

Milk-based beverages had the highest energy concentration, while soft drinks, energy drinks, flavoured milk, and fruit and vegetable juice categories contained products with very high sugar concentrations (>10g/100ml). All beverages, except milk-based products and still water, had a pH of less than 4.8. Titratable acidity was highest for energy drinks and fruit and vegetable juices.

Research limitations/implications

Energy drinks and fruit and vegetable juices had the highest sugar content and titratable acidity of all the beverage categories and so would be expected to have the greatest potential to cause oral health problems. Milk drinks had the highest energy concentration, but the lowest erosive potential. Regular consumption of many ready-to-drink pre-packaged beverages is therefore inconsistent with recommendations in current dietary and oral health guidelines.

Originality/value

Rather than considering nutritional composition alone, this study examined both nutritional and physicochemical properties of ready-to-drink packaged beverages to reach a more holistic assessment of their health impact.
Reproducing politics: the politicisation of patients' identities and assisted reproduction in Poland and Sweden
Authors: Gunnarsson Payne Jenny , Korolczuk Elżbieta
Published: June 2016

This article examines how discourses on assisted reproductive technologies are locally appropriated, translated or contested in the specific cultural and political contexts of Poland and Sweden. The aim is to investigate how two national patients' organisations, namely the Polish association Nasz Bocian and the Swedish organisation Barnlängtan, articulate rights claims in the context of reproductive technologies. To this end, we investigate how these organisations utilise specific context‐dependent and affectively laden political vocabularies in order to mobilise politically, and discuss how each of these two groups gives rise to a different set of politicised reproductive identities. In order to trace which political vocabularies the respective organisations utilise to mobilise their respective rights claims, we draw primarily on political discourse theory and concepts of political grammars and empty signifiers. Lastly, we discuss which political reproductive identities emerge as a result of these different versions of political mobilisation around assisted reproductive technologies.
German Soldiers and the Horror of War: Fear of Death and the Joy of Killing in 1870 and 1914
Authors: HEWITSON MARK
Published: June 2016

This chapter investigates the relationship between the legitimization of acts of aggression in wars and the outlawing of violence at home. It focuses on soldiers’ responses to violence during the transition from nineteenth‐century warfare to total war, which relied not only on mass conscription but also on the mobilization of civilians. In the ‘wars of the masses’ of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries – the Franco‐German War (1870–1) and the First World War (1914–18) – large numbers of individuals were required to kill on behalf of the state. For ‘more developed industrial states’, this was the point at which, as Norbert Elias recognized, ‘the gradient between pacification within the state and the threat between states is often especially steep’. Soldiers were thus caught between a taboo on aggression and killing in civilian life, and the encouragement and rewarding of violence during wartime. The article points to important similarities between combatants’ responses in 1870 and 1914 whilst also accepting that the inhibition of aggression had become more pronounced by 1914, despite more widespread expressions of national feeling, which served to legitimize the violent actions of conscript soldiers. At the same time, the reversal of civilized norms took place quickly during modern wars and with lasting effects during peacetime. Under certain conditions, acts of violence, the prohibition of which was supposedly necessary for the very existence of civilized societies, were rapidly accepted as a part of warfare and seem subsequently to have been accepted by sections of civil society.
A (Conceptual) History of Violence
Authors: VINALE ADRIANO
Published: June 2016

The article sketches a general history of the concept of violence, particularly focusing on the most significant turning points in western political thought. My main aim is to question the position according to which in western history violence has been progressively declining, in quantity and quality. My working hypothesis follows Michel Foucault's assumption in Discipline and Punish, according to which a modern society of control is based on the gradual transition from the spectacular medieval manifestation of public violence to a disciplinary system perpetrating non‐visible violence. Through this shift violence does not disappear but merely changes its physiognomy, becoming less manifest but not for this reason less present in our economic, social and political relations. As Pierre Bourdieu has shown in a masterly manner, there is a symbolic violence which is not registered in public records and statistics, but which is nonetheless effective and coercive. It is my belief that the diachronic study of the modifications of violence in relation to its changing historical and semantic context will help us to find the most relevant metamorphoses and mystifications of this concept in a western tradition.
Presenting Oneself: Red Army Soldiers and Violence in the Great Patriotic War, 1941–1945
Authors: BISCHL KERSTIN
Published: June 2016

The article explores how dynamics of violence developed within the Red Army during the Great Patriotic War leading to uncontrolled outbreaks of futile violence committed by single or small groups of Red Army soldiers. It defines the ‘Space of Violence’ for the soldiers as a certain area in which they were obliged to endure and to commit violence. The soldiers could not leave this space either physically or mentally, and the Stalinist state applied not only methods of carrots and (oversized) sticks, but also imposed these methods on the soldiers’ immediate peers, that is their comrades. The article then draws on interviews by Soviet historians with Soviet soldiers close to the battlefields that show how the (assumed) peer pressure of comrades made hesitant soldiers forget about all their doubts, urged them to present one's proneness to violence and led to an over‐spilling of violence.
Good governance and differentiated integration: Graded membership in the European Union
Authors: SCHIMMELFENNIG FRANK
Published: June 2016

The study of European integration has traditionally focused on organisational growth: the deepening and widening of the European Union (EU). By contrast, this article analyses organisational differentiation, a process in which states refuse, or are being refused, full integration but find value in establishing in‐between grades of membership. It describes how the EU's system of graded membership has developed, and it explains the positioning of states in this system. The core countries of the EU set a standard of ‘good governance’. The closer European countries are to this standard, the closer their membership grade is to the core. Some countries fall short of this standard and are refused further integration by the core: their membership grade increases with better governance. Other countries refuse further integration because they outperform the standards of the core countries: their membership grade decreases as governance improves. These conjectures are corroborated in a panel analysis of European countries.
Co‐expression of the proteinase inhibitors oryzacystatin I and oryzacystatin II in transgenic potato alters Colorado potato beetle larval development
Authors: Cingel Aleksandar , Savić Jelena , Lazarević Jelica , Ćosić Tatjana , Raspor Martin , Smigocki Ann , Ninković Slavica
Published: June 2016

Colorado potato beetle (CPB; Leptinotarsa decemlineata Say, Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae) has shown a remarkable adaptability to a variety of control measures. Although oryzacystatin I and II (OCI and OCII) have potential in controlling pests that use cysteine proteinases for food digestion, expression of a single OC gene in potato exhibited a minimal or no effect on CPB fitness traits. The aim of this study was to examine the effect of coexpressed OCI and OCII in potato (Solanum tuberosum L.) cultivars Desiree, Dragačevka and Jelica on CPB larvae. Growth parameters, consumption rates and food utilization, as well as activity of proteases of CPB larvae were assayed. Second and third instar larvae fed on transformed leaves molted earlier and had higher relative growth and consumption rates than larvae fed on nontransformed leaves, while efficiency of food utilization was unaffected. In contrast, fourth instar maximum weight gain and amount of leaves consumed were about 20% lower for the larvae fed on transgenic potato. Analysis of total protease activity of third instar larvae revealed reduction in overall proteolytic activity measured by azocasein hydrolysis, accompanied with inhibition of cysteine proteinase activity 24 h after ingestion of potato leaves expressing OCI and OCII. However, after long‐term feeding on transformed leaves proteolytic activities of larvae became similar to the controls. Although feeding on OCI/OCII leaves did not affect larval survival, coexpression of OC genes reduced the development time and thus significantly decreased plant damage caused by CPB larvae.
Long‐term patterns in Iberian hare population dynamics in a protected area (Doñana National Park) in the southwestern Iberian Peninsula: Effects of weather conditions and plant cover
Authors: CARRO Francisco , SORIGUER Ramón C.
Published: June 2016

The Iberian hare (Lepus granatensis) is a widely distributed endemic species in the Iberian Peninsula. To improve our knowledge of its population dynamics, the relative abundance and population trends of the Iberian hare were studied in the autumns of 1995–2012 in a protected area (Doñana National Park) by spotlighting in 2 different habitats: marshland and ecotones. The average relative abundance was 0.38 hare/km (SD = 0.63) in the marshland and 3.6 hares/km (SD = 4.09) in ecotones. The Iberian hare population exhibited local interannual fluctuations and a negative population trend during the study period (1995–2012). The results suggest that its populations are in decline. The flooding of parts of the marshland in June, July and October favor hare abundance in the ecotone. Hare abundance in the marshland increases as the flooded surface area increases in October. These effects are more pronounced if the rains are early (October) and partially flood the marsh. By contrast, when marsh grasses and graminoids are very high and thick (as measured using the aerial herbaceous biomass [biomass marshland] as a proxy), the abundance of hares decreases dramatically as does the area of the marsh that is flooded (in November).
Antioxidant, Antibacterial, and Antiproliferative Activities of Free and Bound Phenolics from Peel and Flesh of Fuji Apple
Authors: Luo Jincan , Zhang Pei , Li Siqian , Shah Nagendra P.
Published: June 2016

This study was conducted to investigate the antioxidant, antibacterial, and antiproliferative activities of flesh free (FF), flesh bound (FB), peel free (PF), and peel bound (PB) phenolics from Fuji apple. The PB, which had highest total phenolic contents (126.15 ± 2.41 mg/100 g wet weight) and lowest total carbohydrate contents (34.68 ± 2.78 mg/100 g wet weight), showed the strongest 2,2’‐azinobis‐(3‐ethylbenthiazoline‐6‐sulphonate) (ABTS) radical scavenging activity (EC50 = 0.36 ± 0.02 mg/mL), 1,1‐diphenyl‐2‐picryhydrazyl (DPPH) radical scavenging activity (EC50 = 0.26 ± 0.01 mg/mL), and ferric reducing antioxidant power (Ferric reducing antioxidant power; EC50 = 0.19 ± 0.02 mg/mL) compared with those of FF, FB, and PF. The PB also showed the strongest antibacterial activities on Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus, and Listeria monocytogenes and it also showed the highest antiproliferative effects on Caco‐2 human colonic cancer cell (EC50 = 1.44 ± 0.01 mg/mL) and Hela human cervical cell (EC50 = 2.81 ± 0.01 mg/mL). Both free and bound phenolics from Fuji apple showed good antioxidant, antibacterial, and antiproliferative activities in our study, and bound phenolics had significantly higher activities compared with those of free phenolics.
Unexpectedly high bacteriochlorophyll a concentrations in neotropical tank bromeliads
Authors: Lehours Anne‐Catherine , Jeune Anne‐Hélène Le , Aguer Jean‐Pierre , Céréghino Régis , Corbara Bruno , Kéraval Benoit , Leroy Céline , Perrière Fanny , Jeanthon Christian , Carrias Jean‐François
Published: June 2016

The contribution of bacteriochlorophyll a (BChl a) to photosynthetically driven electron transport is generally low in aquatic and terrestrial systems. Here, we provide evidence that anoxygenic bacterial phototrophy is widespread and substantial in water retained by tank bromeliads of a primary rainforest in French Guiana. An analysis of the water extracted from 104 randomly selected tank bromeliads using infrared fluorimetry suggested the overall presence of abundant anoxygenic phototrophic bacterial populations. We found that purple bacteria dominated these populations responsible for unusually high BChl a/chlorophyll a ratios (>50%). Our data suggest that BChl a‐based phototrophy in tank bromeliads can have significant effects on the ecology of tank‐bromeliad ecosystems and on the carbon and energy fluxes in Neotropical forests.
Corporate governance and the sensitivity of investments to cash flows
Authors: Bhabra Gurmeet Singh , Kaur Parvinder , Seoungpil Ahn
Published: June 2016

We find very strong and consistent evidence that investments in Strong‐Governance firms (managers not entrenched) are strongly sensitive to availability of internal cash flows while such sensitivity is not different from zero for Weak‐Governance firms (entrenched management). We interpret this as evidence in support of Kaplan and Zingales' (1997) contention that sensitivity of investments to cash flows is not an adequate measure of financing constraints. More importantly, our findings are consistent with Kaplan and Zingales’ conjecture that the observed sensitivity of investments to cash flows in firms that do not face financing constraints may be driven by excessive risk aversion of managers.
Retracted: T‐peak to T‐end Interval Predicts Appropriate Shocks in Patients with Heart Failure Undergoing Implantable Cardioverter Defibrillator Implantation for Primary Prophylaxis
Authors: Sen Ömer , Yilmaz Samet , Sen Fatih , Balcı Kevser G. , Akboga Mehmet K. , Yayla Cagrı , Özeke Özcan
Published: June 2016

Background

T‐wave peak to T‐wave end interval (Tp‐e) correlates with dispersion of ventricular repolarization. The purpose of this study was to assess the ability of Tp‐e to predict appropriate implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD) shocks and all‐cause mortality in patients who underwent ICD implantation for primary prophylaxis.

Methods

Two hundred twenty‐eight patients with left ventricular ejection fraction ≤35% and an ICD implanted were followed‐up prospectively. Patients divided into two subgroups according to presence of appropriate ICD shocks (Group 1: 112 patients with ICD shocks, Group 2: 116 patients without shocks). End points were appropriate ICD therapy due to ventricular tachycardia (VT)/ventricular fibrillation (VF), death, and a combined end point of VT/VF or death.

Results

During a mean follow‐up of 22.3 ± 7.7 months, appropriate ICD shocks were observed in 112 of 228 patients (49.1%). The mean duration of the Tp‐e Group 1 was significantly longer than Group 2 (115.3 ± 22.2 vs 104.7 ± 20.2 ms, P < 0.001). Ischemic etiology and Tp‐e duration were found to be independent predictors of ICD therapy. When the patients were divided into two groups based on Tp‐e interval, there was no significant difference regarding the mortality between groups (21.2% vs 21.8%, P: 0.186). However, appropriate ICD shocks due to VT/VF (37.5% vs 58.8%, P < 0.001) and combined end point (39.4% vs 64.5%, P: 0.002) were significantly higher in patients with longer Tp‐e group.

Conclusions

Tp‐e interval independently predicts appropriate ICD shocks in patients with systolic dysfunction and ICDs implanted for primary prevention.
Can Case Management Contribute to Effective Use of Small Self‐Directed Support Packages for People with Disabilities?
Authors: Robinson Sally , Fisher Karen R. , Gendera Sandra
Published: June 2016

While self‐directed support for people with disabilities and their families represents a welcome shift toward self‐determination and increasing control, the risk of managing with insufficient funds remains. This article examines whether different types of case management can mitigate that risk by providing support when people have only a small direct funding package. It applies the question to an evaluated program of self‐directed support in Queensland, Australia that allocated A$4000 with one of two approaches to case management: program‐focused or organizationally oriented. Case management contributed to the effective use of limited budgets and addressing goals when it promoted choice and control, built relationships, and enabled flexible fund use. Program‐focused case management seemed to be less constrained in enhancing social participation than organizationally oriented case management, which tended to restrict some participatory opportunities. These findings are consistent with earlier research, which indicated that case management can interfere with participation. Even in the context of a small funding allocation, a case management approach that promotes flexibility and person‐centered planning, control over funding, and capacity building can improve the effectiveness of self‐directed support; however it does not overcome the inherent limitations of insufficient funds for adequate support, or the cost of case management itself.
The utility of thromboelastography in inherited and acquired bleeding disorders
Authors: Nogami Keiji
Published: June 2016

Thromboelastography (TEG) was first described by Hartert in 1948, and was designed to monitor viscoelastic clot strength in whole blood in real time. The current TEG method and Rotational Thromboelastometry (ROTEM) were subsequently developed from the original principles. Both of the modern methods provide data by measuring changes in the viscoelastic strength of a small sample of clotting blood in response to a constant rotational force. The important advantage of these techniques is to visually observe and quantify blood coagulation including the propagation, stabilization and dissolution phases of clot formation under low shear conditions. Analysis of the results provides detailed kinetic data on fibrin generation, clot strength and fibrinolysis. These TEG/ROTEM analyses therefore enable evaluation of global clotting function and the monitoring of haemostatic treatment in various clinical situations, not only in patients with genetic bleeding disorders, such as haemophilia, but also in patients undergoing cardiac surgery, liver transplantation or suffering from traumatic injury. Some evidence suggests that haemostatic management using TEG/ROTEM leads to a reduction in total transfusions of whole blood or clotting factors. Wider clinical application of this technology seems likely.
Hypoxia‐inducible factor‐targeting prodrug TOP3 combined with gemcitabine or TS‐1 improves pancreatic cancer survival in an orthotopic model
Authors: Hoang Ngoc Thi Hong , Kadonosono Tetsuya , Kuchimaru Takahiro , Kizaka‐Kondoh Shinae
Published: June 2016

Pancreatic cancer is one of the most lethal digestive system cancers with a 5‐year survival rate of 4–7%. Despite extensive efforts, recent chemotherapeutic regimens have provided only limited benefits to pancreatic cancer patients. Gemcitabine and TS‐1, the current standard‐of‐care chemotherapeutic drugs for treatment of this severe cancer, have a low response rate. Hypoxia is one of the factors contributing to treatment resistance. Specifically, overexpression of hypoxia‐inducible factor, a master transcriptional regulator of cell adaption to hypoxia, is strongly correlated with poor prognosis in many human cancers. TAT‐ODD‐procaspase‐3 (TOP3) is a protein prodrug that is specifically processed and activated in hypoxia‐inducible factor‐active cells in cancers, leading to cell death. Here, we report combination therapies in which TOP3 was combined with gemcitabine or TS‐1. As monotherapy, gemcitabine and TS‐1 showed a limited effect on hypoxic and starved pancreatic cancer cells, whereas co‐treatment with TOP3 successfully overcame this limitation in vitro. Furthermore, combination therapies of TOP3 with these drugs resulted in a significant improvement in survival of orthotopic pancreatic cancer models involving the human pancreatic cancer cell line SUIT‐2. Overall, our study indicates that the combination of TOP3 with current chemotherapeutic drugs can significantly improve treatment outcome, offering a promising new therapeutic option for patients with pancreatic cancer.
Reciprocal Effects of Self‐Regulation, Semantic Knowledge, and Reading Comprehension in Early Elementary School
Authors: Connor Carol McDonald , Day Stephanie L. , Phillips Beth , Sparapani Nicole , Ingebrand Sarah W. , McLean Leigh , Barrus Angela , Kaschak Michael P.
Published: June 2016

Many assume that cognitive and linguistic processes, such as semantic knowledge (SK) and self‐regulation (SR), subserve learned skills like reading. However, complex models of interacting and bootstrapping effects of SK, SR, instruction, and reading hypothesize reciprocal effects. Testing this “lattice” model with children (n = 852) followed from first to second grade (5.9–10.4 years of age) revealed reciprocal effects for reading and SR, and reading and SK, but not SR and SK. More effective literacy instruction reduced reading stability over time. Findings elucidate the synergistic and reciprocal effects of learning to read on other important linguistic, self‐regulatory, and cognitive processes; the value of using complex models of development to inform intervention design; and how learned skills may influence development during middle childhood.
Primary clear cell sarcoma of the head and neck: a case series with review of the literature
Authors: Feasel Patrick C. , Cheah Alison L. , Fritchie Karen , Winn Brody , Piliang Melissa , Billings Steven D.
Published: June 2016

Background

Clear cell sarcoma typically arises in deep soft tissues of the foot/ankle. Primary head and neck clear cell sarcoma is rare. We report three molecularly confirmed primary head and neck clear cell sarcoma and review the literature.

Methods

Head and neck clear cell sarcoma with no primary elsewhere were retrieved from archival/consultation files. English language literature review of all reported head and neck clear cell sarcoma was performed.

Results

Three cases were identified. The tumors, all in men, presented on the scalp of a 33‐year‐old, face of a 20‐year‐old and tongue of a 44‐year‐old. Tumors ranged from 0.6 to 1.4 cm. All had typical features of clear cell sarcoma, including nests of tumor cells divided by fibrous septae. One had multinucleated wreath‐like giant cells. One had a focal junctional component. Immunohistochemistry was positive for S100 (three out of three), HMB45 (three out of three) and Melan‐A (two out of three). All had EWSR1 rearrangements by fluorescence in situ hybridization. Follow up available for one patient revealed no evidence of disease after wide excision and radiation. Seven additional reported cases were identified and tabulated.

Conclusion

Head and neck clear cell sarcoma is rare but should be considered in the differential diagnosis of nested tumors with fibrous septae. Molecular analysis should be considered for definitive diagnosis regardless of location.
Involvement of glucagon‐like peptide‐1 in the glucose‐lowering effect of metformin
Authors: Bahne Emilie , Hansen Morten , Brønden Andreas , Sonne David P. , Vilsbøll Tina , Knop Filip K.
Published: June 2016

Metformin is an oral antihyperglycaemic drug used in the first‐line treatment of type 2 diabetes. Metformin's classic and most well‐known blood glucose‐lowering mechanisms include reduction of hepatic gluconeogenesis and increased peripheral insulin sensitivity. Interestingly, intravenously administered metformin is ineffective and recently, metformin was shown to increase plasma concentrations of the glucose‐lowering gut incretin hormone glucagon‐like peptide‐1 (GLP‐1), which may contribute to metformin's glucose‐lowering effect in patients with type 2 diabetes. The mechanisms behind metformin‐induced increments in GLP‐1 levels remain unknown, but it has been hypothesized that metformin stimulates GLP‐1 secretion directly and/or indirectly and that metformin prolongs the half‐life of GLP‐1. Also, it has been suggested that metformin may potentiate the glucose‐lowering effects of GLP‐1 by increasing target tissue sensitivity to GLP‐1. The present article critically reviews the possible mechanisms by which metformin may affect GLP‐1 levels and sensitivity and discusses whether such alterations may constitute important and clinically relevant glucose‐lowering actions of metformin.
Efficacy and safety of empagliflozin in patients with type 2 diabetes from Asian countries: pooled data from four phase III trials
Authors: Yoon Kun‐Ho , Nishimura Rimei , Lee Jisoo , Crowe Susanne , Salsali Afshin , Hach Thomas , Woerle Hans J.
Published: June 2016

We investigated the efficacy and safety of empagliflozin over 24 weeks in Asian patients with type 2 diabetes (T2DM) using pooled data from four phase III trials. In these trials, patients were randomized to receive empagliflozin 10 mg, empagliflozin 25 mg or placebo as monotherapy or add‐on to metformin, metformin plus sulphonylurea or pioglitazone ± metformin. In total, 1326 patients from Asia received ≥1 dose of study drug. At week 24, adjusted mean differences versus placebo in change from baseline in glycated haemoglobin (HbA1c) were −0.66% [95% confidence interval (CI) −0.76, −0.56] and −0.73% (95% CI −0.83, −0.64) and in weight were −1.6 kg (95% CI −1.9, −1.3) and −1.8 kg (95% CI −2.1, −1.5) with empagliflozin 10 and 25 mg, respectively (all p < 0.001). Empagliflozin significantly reduced systolic and diastolic blood pressure. The proportion of patients reporting ≥1 adverse event was similar across treatment groups, but events consistent with genital infection were more common in patients treated with empagliflozin 10 mg (3.4%) or 25 mg (2.3%) than placebo (0.9%). Thus in Asian patients with T2DM, empagliflozin reduced HbA1c, weight and blood pressure, and was well tolerated.