bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Gradual vs entire sponsorship termination
Authors: Dick Christopher
Published: June 2018

Purpose

The few studies on the effects of a sponsorship termination do not consider the effects of different exit options on consumers’ attitudes toward the exiting sponsor. To fill this gap, the purpose of this paper is to investigate the effects of the extent of the exit (gradual vs entire) as well as the timing of the announcement (early vs late) on consumers’ attitudes. Moreover, this research considers the mediating role of the perceived abandonment of the sponsored party.

Design/methodology/approach

This research uses an experimental study (n=204). Data were collected among supporters of a German second division soccer team.

Findings

The results emphasize that the extent of the exit as well as the timing of the announcement influences consumers’ attitudes. They develop negative attitudes toward the withdrawing sponsor, especially when the sponsor exits entirely instead of gradually and announces the decision late instead of early. Furthermore, the results reveal that the perceived abandonment of the sponsored party mediates the effect of the extent of exit on attitudes.

Practical implications

The results help to formulate several exit options for the withdrawing sponsor that will help to minimize the possible negative effects on their brand. Specifically, the author recommends a gradual exit as well as an early announcement of the decision to prevent negative effects on the sponsor brand.

Originality/value

This study expands the research on the effects of a sponsorship termination on consumers’ attitudes toward the sponsor brand. Specifically, it is the first study that considers several aspects regarding the sponsor management of a sponsorship termination as important determinants of consumers’ attitudes.
Financial inclusion and economic growth linkage: some cross country evidence
Authors: Sethi Dinabandhu , Acharya Debashis
Published: June 2018

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to assess the dynamic impact of financial inclusion on economic growth for a large number of developed and developing countries.

Design/methodology/approach

This study uses some panel data models such as country-fixed effect, random effect and time fixed effect regressions, panel cointegration, and panel causality tests to examine the linkage between financial inclusion and economic growth. Panel cointegration is being used to test the long run association between financial inclusion and economic growth, whereas panel causality test is used to find the direction of causality between financial inclusion and economic growth. The data on financial inclusion are taken from Sarma (2012) for the period 2004-2010.

Findings

The empirical findings reveal that there is a positive and long run relationship between financial inclusion and economic growth across 31 countries in the world. Further, panel causality test shows a bi-directional causality between financial inclusion and economic growth Thus, the study confirms that financial inclusion is one of the main drivers of economic growth.

Research limitations/implications

This study has two limitations. First, this study considers only banking institutions in the analysis. Second, the period tested for the long run relationship is not long enough.

Practical implications

This study empirically measures the quantitative impact of financial inclusion policies pursued across the world. The study also suggests that policies emphasizing financial sector reforms in general and promoting financial inclusion in particular shall result in higher economic growth in the long run.

Originality/value

This study attempts to assess the long run relationship between financial inclusion and economic growth with the help of a multidimensional index of financial inclusion. Therefore, this can be a valuable contribution to the banks and policymakers.
Mapping preferences for the number of built elements
Authors: Hussein Dheyaa , Sarkar Somwrita , Armstrong Peter
Published: June 2018

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the relationship between the number of design elements in the context of building facades in urban streetscapes and visual preferences of users to enable a more meaningful citizen participation in the design of local streetscapes.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper developed a web application, which manages experiments through programmatically creating scenes and displaying them online to participants using questionnaires. It collects preferences towards the number of design elements in the scenes and determines the statistical relationship between them.

Findings

The results offer an empirical description of a semi-convex relationship between the number of elements and preferences. They confirm that participants from a particular area inter-subjectively agree in their visual judgements towards the number of design elements, and justify the employment of a regression model fitted on the preferences of residents to assess design proposal in their area.

Originality/value

The paper offers an empirical description of the relationships between preferences and a wide range of values of the number of design elements and empirically supports that people from one area inter-subjectively agree in their judgements towards a visual aspect of the building facades. The study introduces a new analytical component, known as the vertex, which could alter future methods on the visual evaluation of the built environment.
Efficiency of Rice Farming in Ghana: Policy Implications for Rice Sector Development
Authors: Donkor Emmanuel , Matthews Nicolette , Ogundeji Abiodun A.
Published: June 2018

There is high demand for food commodities due to population growth in sub‐Saharan Africa. However, the agricultural productivity remains low making it difficult to meet this increased food demand. Therefore a need arose to improve agricultural productivity, including the productivity of the rice industry in Ghana. This study analysed the factors influencing the efficiency of Ghana's rice industry using the stochastic metafrontier model. A total of 470 smallholder rice producers from two districts in Upper East region were selected for the study. The empirical results reveal that the rice producers are technically inefficient and operating below the metafrontier. The results also indicate that the factors that influence farmers’ technical efficiency level are different between the two districts. Results also indicate that technology adoption or use of improved production practices increase the technical efficiency of rice farmers. Based on the results it is recommended that policy‐makers and researchers develop district specific recommendations, and determine how the adoption of improved technology can be increased.
Quantifying Impacts of Macroeconomic and Non‐economic Factors on Public Health Expenditure: A Structural Time Series Model
Authors: Tajudeen Olufunmilayo S. , Tajudeen Ibrahim A. , Dauda Risikat O.
Published: June 2018

Despite technological progress and society's changing lifestyles, preferences and attitudes towards public healthcare, little is known about the impact of these non‐economic factors (NEFs) on public health expenditure because existing studies have focused mainly on macroeconomic factors. This paper employs a structural time series model (STSM) to re‐examine and quantify the contributions of the key underlying drivers of public health expenditure while accounting for technological progress and other NEFs that have hitherto been ignored. The STSM captures the impact of NEFs via a stochastic trend component. The results of our application for Nigeria using data (1971–2013) sourced from the World Bank and Central Bank of Nigeria are robust to a battery of unit‐root and cointegration tests. We found that the key macroeconomic factors — economic output, current account and fiscal balance, official development assistance, oil revenue as well as urbanization and crude birth rate — are important drivers of public health expenditure. Technological progress and other NEFs have a non‐linear significant impact that varies with time and remains the largest contributor to annual change in public health expenditure. Policy implications from our findings are noted. Specifically, understanding and stabilizing both the macroeconomic and non‐economic factors are crucial to improve public health expenditure.
Exploring the feasibility of targeted chronic hepatitis B screening in the emergency department: A pilot study
Authors: Brock Catherine , Yi Yuan , Papaluca Timothy , Lucas Benjamin , Angus Peter W , Taylor David , Leung Christopher
Published: June 2018

Objective

To explore the feasibility of an ED chronic hepatitis B (CHB) screening programme.

Methods

Adult patients born in intermediate‐high CHB prevalent regions completed a pre‐screening questionnaire and were offered CHB testing. ED staff were surveyed to gauge potential barriers to the programme.

Results

Eighty patients demonstrated limited knowledge of hepatitis B virus transmission and perceived many barriers to screening. Among 65 tested for CHB, no new cases were detected but 36 (55.4%, 95% CI 42.6–67.5) were susceptible to infection. Staff supported the programme but reported potential barriers.

Conclusion

Targeted ED CHB screening is feasible but effectiveness and cost‐effectiveness need further exploration.
The impact of ileal pouch‐anal anastomosis on graft survival following liver transplantation for primary sclerosing cholangitis
Authors: Trivedi P. J. , Reece J. , Laing R. W. , Slaney E. , Cooney R. , Gunson B. K. , Kamarajah S. K. , Pinkney T. , Thompson F. , Muiesan P. , Schlegel A. , Hirschfield G. M. , Iqbal T. , Ferguson J.
Published: June 2018

Background

Liver transplantation is the only life‐extending intervention for primary sclerosing cholangitis (PSC). Given the co‐existence with colitis, patients may also require colectomy; a factor potentially conferring improved post‐transplant outcomes.

Aim

To determine the impact of restorative surgery via ileal pouch‐anal anastomosis (IPAA) vs retaining an end ileostomy on liver‐related outcomes post‐transplantation.

Methods

Graft survival was evaluated across a prospectively accrued transplant database, stratified according to colectomy status and type.

Results

Between 1990 and 2016, 240 individuals with PSC/colitis underwent transplantation (cumulative 1870 patient‐years until first graft loss or last follow‐up date), of whom 75 also required colectomy. A heightened incidence of graft loss was observed for the IPAA group vs those retaining an end ileostomy (2.8 vs 0.4 per 100 patient‐years, log‐rank P = 0.005), whereas rates between IPAA vs no colectomy groups were not significantly different (2.8 vs 1.7, P = 0.1). In addition, the ileostomy group experienced significantly lower graft loss rates vs. patients retaining an intact colon (P = 0.044). The risks conferred by IPAA persisted when taking into account timing of colectomy as related to liver transplantation via time‐dependent Cox regression analysis. Hepatic artery thrombosis and biliary strictures were the principal aetiologies of graft loss overall. Incidence rates for both were not significantly different between IPAA and no colectomy groups (P = 0.092 and P = 0.358); however, end ileostomy appeared protective (P = 0.007 and 0.031, respectively).

Conclusion

In PSC, liver transplantation, colectomy + IPAA is associated with similar incidence rates of hepatic artery thrombosis, recurrent biliary strictures and re‐transplantation compared with no colectomy. Colectomy + end ileostomy confers more favourable graft outcomes.
Careful control: The infrastructure of water in carceral space
Authors: Turner Jennifer , Moran Dominique
Published: June 2018

This paper advances carceral geographies by situating water in relation to the nexus of care and control in the carceral setting. Critical for both hygiene and health, but also requiring control and management, consideration of water offers an analytical lens to uncover everyday, intimate and embodied institutional spaces of care and control mediated by water both in its elemental form, and via water infrastructures. Drawing on extensive qualitative data generated with serving prisoners in the UK, the paper considers carceral relationships with water as variously and simultaneously unruly, restrictive, health‐enabling and therapeutic.
From psychogeography to hanging‐out‐knowing: Situationist dérive in nonrepresentational urban research
Authors: Pyyry Noora
Published: June 2018

Members of the Situationist International drifted in urban space on their dérives in the 1950s and 60s to grasp the city's “psychogeography.” In this paper, I revisit the Situationist practice of drifting as part of doing nonrepresentational urban research on spatial justice in the city. In contrast to aiming for any fixed representations of a city's contours, I treat the dérive as a process of “becoming with”: a continuous invention of the city (and the self) through ephemeral encounters. This understanding implies an emergent human subject, one that is changeable and creates breaks in knowledge via dwelling with other subjects (human, technological, architectural, etc.). Here, thinking is approached as a joint participation of the knowing human subject and the city, it is always spatial‐embodied. I have named this style of non‐linear reflection “hanging‐out‐knowing.” Photography is connected to the dérive to direct attention to passing moments and banal details in the urban landscape: to tease out situations, or encounters, that may provoke the generative moment of enchantment. This experience can usually be detected only when it is already gone, but it forces a new perspective to the world. In doing research, this view does not open from practice alone, rather it is often inspired by theory. To illustrate the onto‐epistemological argument, I discuss a sound‐inspired photo‐walk in Vilanova i la Geltrú, a vibrant small city in the province of Barcelona.
Small bowel obstruction due to internal hernia caused by the ureter after laparoscopic radical cystectomy and ileal conduit: A case report
Authors: Ataka Ryo , Sato Shinsuke , Matsubara Kazuyosi , Takagi Masakazu , Chihara Ichiro , Kohei Naoki , Yoshimura Koji
Published: June 2018

A 74‐year‐old man presented at our hospital with complaints of abdominal pain, nausea, and vomiting. He had undergone laparoscopic radical cystectomy and ileal conduit for urinary bladder cancer 1 month earlier. The patient had abdominal distention, resonant sounds on percussion, and diffuse abdominal tenderness without rebound or guarding. Abdominal CT revealed dilated jejunal loops herniated through a cord‐like structure. Based on these findings, emergency surgery was performed, and intestinal dilatation into the space between the ureter, the ileal conduit, and the sacral bone was detected. The loops were released manually and were not resected. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first case report of small bowel obstruction due to internal hernia caused by the ureter after laparoscopic radical cystectomy and ileal conduit. Retroperitonealization and the minimum required mobilization of the ureters may be necessary when urinary diversion is constructed, especially in laparoscopic or robotic surgeries.
There is no right to the death of the fetus
Authors: Hendricks Perry
Published: June 2018

Joona Räsänen, in his article ‘Ectogenesis, abortion and a right to the death of the fetus’ (this journal), has argued for the view that parents have a right to the death of the fetus. In this brief article, I will explicate the three arguments Räsänen defends, and show that two of them have false or unmotivated premises and hence fail, and that the support he offers for his third argument is inconsistent with other views he expresses in his article. Therefore, I conclude that there is no right to the death of the fetus, or, if there is one, Räsänen has not shown it.
Indigeneity in the Air: The Case of Chinchero Airport in Cusco, Peru
Authors: Garcia Pablo
Published: June 2018

This article problematises ‘indigeneity’ by looking at the various disruptions, conflicts and fractures that the recent sale of the land for the construction of the new Cusco international airport in Chinchero, Peru, has triggered locally. In addition to examining the erosion of the peasant community model that emerged from the 1969 agrarian reform, it explores the formation of new social groupings in a context of tourism and neoliberal development. The discussion highlights the role of tourism‐related, large‐scale infrastructure in the production of new identity politics that challenges fixed and preconceived ideas about ‘the indigenous’ in the Andes.
Monocytes as immune targets in arterial hypertension
Authors: Wenzel Philip
Published: June 2018

The role of myelomonocytic cells appears to be critical for the initiation, progression and manifestation of arterial hypertension. Monocytes can induce vascular inflammation as well as tissue remodelling and (mal)adaptation by secreting chemokines and cytokines, producing ROS, expressing coagulation factors and transforming into macrophages. A multitude of adhesion molecules promote the infiltration and accumulation of monocytes into the kidney, heart, brain and vasculature in hypertension. All these facets offer the possibility to pharmacologically target monocytes and may represent novel therapeutic ways to treat hypertension, attenuate hypertension‐associated end organ damage or prevent the development or worsening of high blood pressure.

Linked Articles

This article is part of a themed section on Immune Targets in Hypertension. To view the other articles in this section visit http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/bph.v176.12/issuetoc
Management of thyroid cytological material, preanalytical procedures and bio‐banking
Authors: Bode‐Lesniewska B. , Cochand‐Priollet B. , Straccia P. , Fadda G. , Bongiovanni M.
Published: June 2018

Thyroid nodules are common and are increasingly detected due to recent advances in imaging techniques. However, clinically relevant thyroid cancer is rare and the mortality from aggressive thyroid cancer remains constant. Fine needle aspiration cytology (FNAC) is a standard method for diagnosing thyroid malignancy and the discrimination of malignant nodules from goitre. As the examined nodules on thyroid FNAC are often small incidental findings, it is important to maintain a low rate of undetermined diagnoses requiring further clinical work up or surgery. The most important factors determining the accuracy of the cytological diagnosis and suitability for biobanking of thyroid FNACs are the quality of the sample and availability of adequate tissue for auxiliary studies. This article discusses technical aspects (preanalytics) of performing thyroid FNAC, including image guidance and rapid on‐site evaluation, sample collection methods (conventional slides, liquid‐based methods, cell blocks) and storage (bio‐banking). The spectrum of special studies (immunocytochemistry on direct slides or liquid‐based cytology, immunohistochemistry on cell blocks and molecular methods) required for improving the precision of the cytological diagnosis of the thyroid nodules is also discussed.
Adjusting insulin doses in patients with type 1 diabetes who use insulin pump and continuous glucose monitoring: Variations among countries and physicians
Authors: Nimri Revital , Dassau Eyal , Segall Tomer , Muller Ido , Bratina Natasa , Kordonouri Olga , Bello Rachel , Biester Torben , Dovc Klemen , Tenenbaum Ariel , Brener Avivit , Šimunović Marko , Sakka Sophia D. , Nevo Shenker Michal , Passone Caroline GB , Rutigliano Irene , Tinti Davide , Bonura Clara , Caiulo Silvana , Ruszala Anna , Piccini Barbara , Giri Dinesh , Stein Ronnie , Rabbone Ivana , Bruzzi Patrizia , Omladič Jasna Šuput , Steele Caroline , Beccuti Guglielmo , Yackobovitch‐Gavan Michal , Battelino Tadej , Danne Thomas , Atlas Eran , Phillip Moshe
Published: June 2018

Aims

To evaluate physicians' adjustments of insulin pump settings based on continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) for patients with type 1 diabetes and to compare these to automated insulin dose adjustments.

Methods

A total of 26 physicians from 16 centres in Europe, Israel and South America participated in the study. All were asked to adjust insulin dosing based on insulin pump, CGM and glucometer downloads of 15 patients (mean age 16.2 ± 4.3 years, six female, mean glycated haemoglobin 8.3 ± 0.9% [66.8 ± 7.3 mmol/mol]) gathered over a 3‐week period. Recommendations were compared for the relative changes in the basal, carbohydrate to insulin ratio (CR) and correction factor (CF) plans among physicians and among centres and also between the physicians and an automated algorithm, the Advisor Pro (DreaMed Diabetes Ltd, Petah Tikva, Israel). Study endpoints were the percentage of comparison points for which there was full agreement on the trend of insulin dose adjustments (same trend), partial agreement (increase/decrease vs no change) and full disagreement (opposite trend).

Results

The percentages for full agreement between physicians on the trend of insulin adjustments of the basal, CR and CF plans were 41 ± 9%, 45 ± 11% and 45.5 ± 13%, and for complete disagreement they were 12 ± 7%, 9.5 ± 7% and 10 ± 8%, respectively. Significantly similar results were found between the physicians and the automated algorithm. The algorithm magnitude of insulin dose change was at least equal to or less than that proposed by the physicians.

Conclusions

Physicians provide different insulin dose recommendations based on the same datasets. The automated advice of the Advisor Pro did not differ significantly from the advice given by the physicians in the direction or magnitude of the insulin dosing.
Nation-building Through Compulsory Schooling during the Age of Mass Migration
Authors: Bandiera Oriana , Mohnen Myra , Rasul Imran , Viarengo Martina
Published: June 2018

Why did America introduce compulsory schooling laws at a time when financial investments in education and voluntary school attendance were high? We provide qualitative and quantitative evidence that states adopted compulsory schooling laws as a nation-building tool to instil civic values to the culturally diverse migrants during the ‘Age of Mass Migration’ between 1850 and 1914. We show the adoption of compulsory schooling laws occurred significantly earlier in states that hosted European migrants with lower exposure to civic values in their home countries. Using cross-county data, we show that these migrants had significantly lower demand for American schooling pre-compulsion.
Contracting for the unknown and the logic of innovation
Authors: Grandori Anna , Furlotti Marco
Published: June 2018

This paper discusses the components of contracts adequate for governing innovation, and their microfoundations in the logic of innovative decision processes. Drawing on models of discovery and design processes, distinctive logical features of innovative decision making are specified and connected to features of contracts that can sustain innovation processes and do not fail under radical uncertainty. It is argued that if new knowledge is to be generated under uncertainty and risk, ‘relational contracts’, as usually intended, are not enough and a more robust type of contracting is needed and it is actually often used: formal constitutional contracts that associate resources, leave their uses rationally unspecified, but exhaustively specify the assignment of residual decision rights and other property rights, and the decision rules to be followed in governance. The argument is supported by an analysis of a large international database on the governance of multi‐party projects in discovery‐intensive and design‐intensive industries.
A case study for late Archean and Proterozoic biogeochemical iron‐ and sulphur cycling in a modern habitat—the Arvadi Spring
Authors: Koeksoy Elif , Halama Maximilian , Hagemann Nikolas , Weigold Pascal R. , Laufer Katja , Kleindienst Sara , Byrne James M. , Sundman Anneli , Hanselmann Kurt , Halevy Itay , Schoenberg Ronny , Konhauser Kurt O. , Kappler Andreas
Published: June 2018

As a consequence of Earth's surface oxygenation, ocean geochemistry changed from ferruginous (iron(II)‐rich) into more complex ferro‐euxinic (iron(II)‐sulphide‐rich) conditions during the Paleoproterozoic. This transition must have had profound implications for the Proterozoic microbial community that existed within the ocean water and bottom sediment; in particular, iron‐oxidizing bacteria likely had to compete with emerging sulphur‐metabolizers. However, the nature of their coexistence and interaction remains speculative. Here, we present geochemical and microbiological data from the Arvadi Spring in the eastern Swiss Alps, a modern model habitat for ferro‐euxinic transition zones in late Archean and Proterozoic oceans during high‐oxygen intervals, which enables us to reconstruct the microbial community structure in respective settings for this geological era. The spring water is oxygen‐saturated but still contains relatively elevated concentrations of dissolved iron(II) (17.2 ± 2.8 μM) and sulphide (2.5 ± 0.2 μM) with simultaneously high concentrations of sulphate (8.3 ± 0.04 mM). Solids consisting of quartz, calcite, dolomite and iron(III) oxyhydroxide minerals as well as sulphur‐containing particles, presumably elemental S0, cover the spring sediment. Cultivation‐based most probable number counts revealed microaerophilic iron(II)‐oxidizers and sulphide‐oxidizers to represent the largest fraction of iron‐ and sulphur‐metabolizers in the spring, coexisting with less abundant iron(III)‐reducers, sulphate‐reducers and phototrophic and nitrate‐reducing iron(II)‐oxidizers. 16S rRNA gene 454 pyrosequencing showed sulphide‐oxidizing Thiothrix species to be the dominating genus, supporting the results from our cultivation‐based assessment. Collectively, our results suggest that anaerobic and microaerophilic iron‐ and sulphur‐metabolizers could have coexisted in oxygenated ferro‐sulphidic transition zones of late Archean and Proterozoic oceans, where they would have sustained continuous cycling of iron and sulphur compounds.
The impact of hydrolyzing and oxidizing agents on chemical composition and digestibility of various high‐fibre forages
Authors: Miccoli Florencia E. , Arelovich Hugo M. , Martínez Marcela F. , Bravo Rodrigo D. , Menghini Mariano
Published: June 2018

Urea (U), sodium hypochlorite (H) and sodium chloride (S) alone or combined were applied upon high‐fibre forages (HFF) in three experiments. Experiment (Exp) I: tall wheatgrass (TW), weeping lovegrass (WL), deferred sorghum (DS) and barley straw (BS) as substrates were untreated (U0) or treated with 4 g 100 g−1 DM (U4), and stored for 45 days. Within each forage, CP and IVDMD were increased by U4 (p < 0.01). Exp II: TW was treated with U and H: U (as in Exp I) and H (at 0, 0.25, 0.50, 0.75 and 1 g active Cl 100 g−1 DM), alone or combined. The interaction U*H was significant for ADF, ADL and CP. For U4+H0.25 ADF and ADL decreased (p < 0.01). For U0, ADL was reduced from H.025 through H1.00 (p < 0.05). U4 increased IVDMD and CP (p < 0.01). Exp III: oat straw (O) was treated with U0 and U4, H0 and H1, S0 and S4 (4 g S 100 g−1 DM), including all combinations at 3 storage times (T = 10, 20 and 30 days). Interactions U*S*H*T for ADL, U*H*T for NDF and CP and S*H*T for IVDMD (p < 0.05) were found. ADF was reduced by U4, H1 and S1 (p < 0.01). The greatest decrease (4.5%) was with U4. Principal components analysis showed U4S4H1 highly related to IVDMD for all T. All treatments had little or no impact on NDF, ADF and ADL content. Lower quality forages had greatest improvements in digestibility and N‐retention.
Enzymatic hydrolysis combined with high‐pressure homogenisation for the preparation of polysaccharide‐based nanoparticles from the by‐product of Flammulina velutipes
Authors: Wang Wenhang , Wu Zinan , Wang Xiao , Li Cong , Zhang Kai , Zhou Jingyang , Cheng Shan , Lu Fuping
Published: June 2018

In this study, protease, α‐amylase and 5‰ β‐glucanase enzymolysis in combination with high‐pressure homogenisation were used for the preparation of polysaccharide‐based nanoparticles from Flammulina velutipes stipes, respectively, named FNP‐1, FNP‐2 and FNP‐3, and the nanoparticles were subsequently characterised. The FNP size distribution ranged from 50 nm to 300 nm, among which FNP‐2 and FNP‐3 were smaller than FNP‐1, based on the SEM images. GC‐MS results showed that these particles were mainly composed of glucose and glucosamine. The FNP dispersions at 1 wt% behaved as non‐Newtonian, shear‐thinning fluids, and the FNP‐3 dispersion presented superior viscoelasticity. With an increasing degree of enzymolysis, the thermal stability of the FNPs decreased. In addition, these particles presented various cation‐exchange properties. Therefore, the Flammulina velutipes polysaccharide‐based nanoparticles obtained from this study can be potentially used as a promising functional food ingredient in the food industry.
Comparison of DNA extraction methods for entomological origin identification of honey using simple additive weighting method
Authors: Kek Siok Peng , Chin Nyuk Ling , Tan Sheau Wei , Yusof Yus Aniza , Chua Lee Suan
Published: June 2018

Four different DNA protocols were compared to obtain the best method for DNA extraction of bees in honey samples. The efficiency was evaluated in terms of DNA concentration and purity, PCR amplification capacity targeting mitochondrial 16S rRNA gene, and execution time. The most efficient DNA extraction method was selected using simple additive weighting (SAW) analysis. The DNeasy method with silica membrane spin‐column format scored highest in the final ranking of SAW compared to CTAB‐based, Wizard and NucleoSpin methods. It yielded extracted DNA with sufficient concentration (second highest), acceptable purity (1.5–2.0), amplifiable for 16S rRNA gene region, and required least extraction time. This recommended DNA extraction protocol suggests that genomic methodologies using a 150 bp amplicon of the 16S rRNA gene of bees enables identification of the entomological origin of honey.
The market response to implied debt covenant violations
Authors: Stice Derrald
Published: June 2018

Previous research documents a negative stock price reaction to the announcement of a debt covenant violation (DCV). However, managers of firms that violate a covenant often obtain waivers and renegotiate debt contracts with lenders before the SEC requires them to disclose a violation. Firms therefore may not report some covenant violations, and prior research has not documented their cost to shareholders. Exploiting the fact that over half of all private debt contracts contain a debt covenant reliant on some variation of accounting earnings, I construct a sample of firms with debt contracts that contain at least one earnings‐based covenant. Combining earnings‐based‐covenant contract values from debt agreements with information publicly available at the earnings announcement date, I predict firms in violation of a debt covenant and provide evidence that equity investors react negatively to these implied violations, regardless of whether managers ever disclose that a violation occurred. In additional tests, I find no evidence of a negative stock price reaction to a firm disclosure of a DCV that market participants could infer from previously reported earnings, but I demonstrate that equity investors do react to the disclosure of a violation of a balance‐sheet covenant that would not have been inferable. This study complements previous research on DCVs by documenting the costliness to shareholders of violations subsequently resolved with lenders but not disclosed.
Altered T‐cell subsets and transcription factors in latent autoimmune diabetes in adults taking sitagliptin, a dipeptidyl peptidase‐4 inhibitor: A 1‐year open‐label randomized controlled trial
Authors: Wang Xia , Yang Lin , Cheng Ying , Zheng Peilin , Hu Jingping , Huang Gan , Zhou Zhiguang
Published: June 2018

Aims/Introduction

Dipeptidyl peptidase‐4 inhibitor has been proven to improve glycemic control and β‐cell function in latent autoimmune diabetes in adults (LADA). The potential immune modulation mechanism is still unknown. Thus, we tested T‐lymphocyte subsets and expression of relevant transcription factors in LADA patients with sitagliptin intervention for up to 1‐year.

Materials and Methods

A total of 40 LADA patients were randomly assigned to sitagliptin and/or insulin treatment (SITA group; n = 20) or insulin alone treatment (CONT group; n = 20). Peripheral blood mononuclear cells were isolated at baseline, 6 months and 12 months. The percentage of T‐lymphocyte subsets (T helper 1, T helper 2, T helper 17 and regulatory T cells) tested by flow cytometry, and the messenger ribonucleic acid expression (T box expressed in T cells [T‐BET], GATA binding protein 3 [GATA3], forkhead box protein 3 [FOXP3] and related orphan receptor C [RORC]) tested by real‐time polymerase chain reaction were determined at baseline, 6 months and 12 months.

Results

The percentage of regulatory T cells in the SITA group was significantly lower than that of the CONT group at baseline. The percentage of T helper 2 cells was higher than that of the CONT group at 6 months and 12 months. At 12 months, the percentage of T helper 17 cells was lower in the SITA group than that of the CONT group. After a 1‐year visit, the messenger ribonucleic acid expression levels of T‐BET expressed in T cells and RORC in the SITA group were significantly lower than at baseline. Whereas that of RORC in the CONT group were significantly lower than that at baseline.

Conclusions

The data confirmed that sitagliptin altered the phenotype of T cells and downregulated the expression of T‐BET and RORC in LADA patients, and ameliorated glycemic control in LADA patients.
Barcodes Reveal 48 New Species ofTetrahymena,Dexiostoma, andGlaucoma: Phylogeny, Ecology, and Biogeography of New and Established Species
Authors: Doerder F. Paul
Published: June 2018

Tetrahymenamitochondrialcox1 barcodes and nuclearSSUrRNAsequences are particularly effective at distinguishing among its many cryptic species. In a project to learn more aboutTetrahymenanatural history, the majority of >1,000Tetrahymena‐like fresh water isolates were assigned to establishedTetrahymenaspecies with the remaining assigned to 37 new species ofTetrahymena, nine new species ofDexiostomaand 12 new species ofGlaucoma. Phylogenetically, all but threeTetrahymenaspecies belong to the well‐established “australis” or “borealis” clades; the minority forms a divergent “paravorax” clade. MostTetrahymenaspecies are micronucleate, but others are exclusively amicronucleate. The self‐splicing intron of theLSUrRNAprecursor is absent inDexiostomaandGlaucomaand was likely acquired subsequent to the “australis/borealis” split; in some instances, its sequence is diagnostic of species.Tetrahymena americanis,T. elliotti,T. gruchyin. sp., andT. borealis, together accounted for >50% of isolates, consistent with previous findings for established species. The biogeographic range of species found previously in Austria, China, and Pakistan was extended to the Nearctic; some species show evidence of population structure consistent with endemism. Most species were most frequently collected from ponds or lakes, while others, particularlyDexiostomaspecies, were collected most often from streams or rivers. The results suggest that perhaps hundreds of species remain to be discovered, particularly if collecting is global and includes hosts of parasitic forms.
Migration and survival of Atlantic salmon Salmo salar smolts in a large natural lake
Authors: Kennedy Richard J. , Rosell Robert , Millane Michael , Doherty Dennis , Allen Michelle
Published: June 2018

An investigation with acoustic telemetry of the passage of Salmo salar smolts through a large natural lake found heavy mortality occurred at the river‐to‐lake confluences (mean 31.2% km−1), but was lower in the main body of the lake (mean 2.4% km−1). Predation was a significant pressure on emigrating smolts as tagged pike Esox lucius aggregated at river‐to‐lake confluences during the peak of the smolt run. Tagged smolts mainly emmigrated into the lake in the late evening after dusk, possibly as a predator‐avoidance behaviour.
Insured flood damage in Sweden, 1987–2013
Authors: Grahn T. , Olsson J.
Published: June 2018

This study uses insurance claims as a proxy for property damage to analyse flood damage in Sweden between the years 1987 and 2013. The number of compensated insurance claims per year has risen rapidly during this period. As much as 70% of the claims are caused by flood damage occurring during the summer months June, July, and August, when intense rain with low predictability is common. To explore the damage trend a time series cross sectional analysis using four different fixed effect models was applied to the data set. Due to data scarcity, the time series had to be limited to 16 years and contain a total of 304 damage observations. The potentially explanatory climate related factor extreme rain, defined as >6 mm/15 min, and the socioeconomic factors gross regional product (GRP) per capita and housing stock were tested as explanatory factors. The GRP per capita and housing stock were found to be significant in two regression models. The estimated effect of extreme rainfall events exceeded the effects of GRP per capita and housing stock in the models. Extreme rain was robust to model specification and was found to have a highly significant impact on Swedish flood damage.
The Causal Inference Framework: A Primer on Concepts and Methods for Improving the Study of Well‐Woman Childbearing Processes
Authors: Tilden Ellen L. , Snowden Jonathan M.
Published: June 2018

The causal inference framework and related methods have emerged as vital within epidemiology. Scientists in many fields have found that this framework and a variety of designs and analytic approaches facilitate the conduct of strong science. These approaches have proven particularly important for catalyzing knowledge development using existing data and addressing questions for which randomized clinical trials are neither feasible nor ethical. The study of healthy women and normal childbearing processes may benefit from more direct and deliberate engagement with the process of inferring causes and, further, may be strengthened through use of methods appropriate for this undertaking. The purpose of this primer, the first in a series of 3 articles, is to provide the reader an introduction to concepts and methods relevant for causal inference, aimed at the clinician scientist and offer details and references supporting further application of epidemiologic knowledge. The causal inference framework and associated methods hold promise for generating strong, broadly representative, and actionable science to improve the outcomes of healthy women during the childbearing cycle and their children.
The treatment of hyaluronic acid aesthetic interventional induced visual loss (AIIVL): A consensus on practical guidance
Authors: Humzah M Dalvi , Ataullah Saj , Chiang ChenAn , Malhotra Raman , Goldberg Robert
Published: June 2018

Background

Visual loss (blindness) caused by injection of soft tissue fillers is a rare but devastating issue to both patient and practitioner. There is a lack of any structured protocol in the management of this problem

Aims

To produce a pathway for the management of hyaluronic acid aesthetic interventional induced visual loss that was based on the current available literature and guidelines. evidence proposed guidance for the practical management of this problem. was evaluated and a pathway has been developed for patient management and specialist advice

Method

A consensus group experts involved in aesthetic intervention, visual loss research and with experience in dealing with visual loss assessed the current literature and proposed guidelines available. Using the protocols available a pathway for the treatment of aesthetic interventional induced visual loss was proposed.

Results

The group produce a set of guidelines for the practitioner to use as an emergency situation and for use in a delayed presentation. The group also produced guidelines for specialists to use in a secondary care setting.

Conclusions

These recommendations are based on current publications and or consensus view as there is still a lack of robust Level I data to support any particular intervention therapy.
PRODUCTIVITY AND EFFICIENCY ANALYSIS SOFTWARE: AN EXPLORATORY BIBLIOGRAPHICAL SURVEY OF THE OPTIONS
Authors: Daraio Cinzia , Kerstens Kristiaan H.J. , Nepomuceno Thyago Celso Cavalcante , Sickles Robin
Published: June 2018

The software available to implement and carry out efficiency analysis is crucial for the diffusion of efficiency frontier techniques among applied researchers and policy makers. The implementation of up‐to‐date productivity and efficiency analysis is indeed important to advance our knowledge in many fields, ranging from the public and regulated sectors to the private ones. This contribution fills a gap in the existing literature and surveys the currently available options to estimate a variety of frontier methodologies using either general or dedicated programs. We outline directions for future research.
Comparison of the sulfur-oxygenation of cysteine and S-carboxymethyl-l-cysteine in human hepatic cytosol and the rôle of cysteine dioxygenase
Authors: Steventon Glyn B , Khan Samera , Mitchell Stephen C
Published: June 2018

Objectives

To determine the Km, Vmax, cofactor, activator and inhibitor requirements of human cysteine dioxygenase and S-carboxymethyl-l-cysteine S-oxygenase with respect to both l-Cysteine and S-carboxymethyl-l-cysteine as substrates.

Methods

In vitro human hepatic cytosolic fraction enzyme assays were optimised for cysteine dioxygenase activity using l-Cysteine as substrate and the effect of various cofactors, activators and inhibitors on the S-oxidations of both l-Cysteine and S-carboxymethyl-l-cysteine were investigated.

Key findings

The results of the in vitro reaction phenotyping investigation found that although both cysteine dioxygenase and S-carboxymethyl-l-cysteine S-oxygenase required Fe2+ for catalytic activity both enzymes showed considerable divergence in cofactor, activator and inhibitor specificities. Cysteine dioxygenase has no cofactor but uses NAD+ and NADH(H+) as pharmacological chaperones and is not inhibited by S-carboxymethyl-l-cysteine. S-carboxymethyl-l-cysteine S-oxygenase requires tetrahydrobiopterin as a cofactor, is not activated by NAD+ and NADH(H+) but is activated by l-Cysteine. Additionally, the sulfydryl alkylating agent, N-ethylmaleimide, activated carboxymethyl-l-cysteine S-oxygenase but inhibited cysteine dioxygenase.

Conclusions

Human hepatic cytosolic fraction cysteine dioxygenase activity is not responsible for the S-oxidation of the substituted cysteine, S-carboxymethyl-l-cysteine.
Pond‐raised Hybrid Catfish, ♀ Ictalurus punctatus × ♂ Ictalurus furcatus, Do Not Respond to Microbial Phytase Superdosing
Authors: Li Menghe H. , Wise David J. , Mischke Charles C. , Aarattuthodiyil Suja , Tiwari Ambika , Lucas Penelope M. , Tucker Craig S. , Torrans Eugene L. , Perera Thishya
Published: June 2018

Two experiments were conducted in consecutive years to evaluate the responses of hybrid catfish, ♀ Ictalurus punctatus × ♂ Ictalurus furcatus, to “superdosing” of 6‐phytase added to existing commercial catfish feeds. In each experiment, two diets with or without a phytase superdose (2500 and 5000 phytase units/kg, respectively) were compared. In Experiment 1, fingerlings (mean weight: 59 g/fish) were stocked in 17 0.4‐ha earthen ponds at 17,290 fish/ha and were fed once daily to apparent satiation for 198 d. In Experiment 2, fingerlings (mean weight: 47 g/fish) were stocked in 10 0.4‐ha ponds at 24,710 fish/ha and were fed for 128 d. In both experiments, there were no significant differences in total feed fed, gross yield, final fish weight, survival, or Blood packed cell volume between fish fed diets with or without phytase. The diets also had no significant effects on pond water column total phosphorus or chlorophyll a concentrations, but soluble reactive phosphorus concentrations were significantly higher in ponds receiving the phytase diet in Experiment 2. Phytase superdosing of nutritionally complete feeds does not appear to have additional benefits beyond the standard phytase dose on production characteristics or packed cell volume of pond‐raised hybrid catfish and had no beneficial effects on water quality.
A dynamic computational network model for the role of nitric oxide and the myogenic response in microvascular flow regulation
Authors: Liu Yien , Buerk Donald G. , Barbee Kenneth A. , Jaron Dov
Published: June 2018

Objectives

The effect of NO on smooth muscle cell contractility is crucial in regulating vascular tone, blood flow, and O2 delivery. Quantitative predictions for interactions between the NO production rate and the myogenic response for microcirculatory blood vessels are lacking.

Methods

We developed a computational model of a branching microcirculatory network with four representative classes of resistance vessels to predict the effect of endothelium‐derived NO on the microvascular pressure‐flow response. Our model links vessel scale biotransport simulations of NO and O2 delivery to a mechanistic model of autoregulation and myogenic tone in a simplified microcirculatory network.

Results

The model predicts that smooth muscle cell NO bioavailability significantly contributes to resting vascular tone of resistance vessels. Deficiencies in NO seen during hypoxia or ischemia lead to a decreased vessel diameter for all classes at a given intravascular pressure. At the network level, NO deficiencies lead to an increase in pressure drop across the vessels studied, a downward shift in the pressure‐flow curve, and a decrease in the effective range of the autoregulatory response.

Conclusions

Our model predicts the steady state and transient behavior of resistance vessels to perturbations in blood pressure, including effects of NO bioavailability on vascular regulation.
A cell length‐dependent transition in MinD‐dynamics promotes a switch in division‐site placement and preservation of proliferating elongated Vibrio parahaemolyticus swarmer cells
Authors: Muraleedharan Samada , Freitas Carolina , Mann Petra , Glatter Timo , Ringgaard Simon
Published: June 2018

Vibrio parahaemolyticus exists as swimmer and swarmer cells, specialized for growth in liquid and on solid environments respectively. Swarmer cells are characteristically highly elongated due to an inhibition of cell division, but still need to divide in order to proliferate and expand the colony. It is unknown how long swarmer cells divide without diminishing the population of long cells required for swarming behavior. Here we show that swarmer cells divide but the placement of the division site is cell length‐dependent; short swarmers divide at mid‐cell, while long swarmers switch to a specific non‐mid‐cell placement of the division site. Transition to non‐mid‐cell positioning of the Z‐ring is promoted by a cell length‐dependent switch in the localization‐dynamics of the division regulator MinD from a pole‐to‐pole oscillation in short swarmers to a multi‐node standing‐wave oscillation in long swarmers. Regulation of FtsZ levels restricts the number of divisions to one and SlmA ensures sufficient free FtsZ to sustain Z‐ring formation by preventing sequestration of FtsZ into division deficient clusters. By limiting the number of division‐events to one per cell at a specific non‐mid‐cell position, V. parahaemolyticus promotes the preservation of long swarmer cells and permits swarmer cell division without the need for dedifferentiation.