bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Surprise me with your ads! The impacts of guerrilla marketing in social media on brand image
Authors: Gökerik Mehmet , Gürbüz Ahmet , Erkan Ismail , Mogaji Emmanuel , Sap Serap
Published: November 2018

Purpose

The advent of social media brought a new perspective for guerrilla marketing since it allows ads to reach more people through the internet. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the influence of guerrilla marketing in social media on brand image.

Design/methodology/approach

A conceptual model was developed based on the information acceptance model (IACM). The research model was validated through structural equation modelling based on the surveys of 385 university students.

Findings

The results support the proposed model and confirm that guerrilla marketing in social media has a positive effect on both functional and symbolic brand image.

Research limitations/implications

This study was conducted with university students. This sample was deemed appropriate since the study had to be conducted with people who use social media. However, although the age group of university students constitutes the majority of social media users, they may not fully represent the whole population. Also, this study showed four guerrilla marketing examples to participants before they commenced filling in the questionnaire. Although the authors selected the most generic guerrilla advertisements during the pilot tests and eliminated the ones which were difficult to understand, this can still be considered as limitations of the study.

Practical implications

This study has both theoretical and managerial implications. First, most of the guerrilla marketing studies focus on consumers and neglect possible impacts on brands. In order to fulfil this gap in the literature, this study investigates the influence of guerrilla marketing in brand image. Besides, this study contributes to IACM by expanding its scope through testing its determinants on “brand image”. It proves that IACM is valid for use in different contexts. On the managerial side, this study provides marketers with a frame of reference to understand the information adoption process of guerrilla marketing on social media.

Originality/value

Current studies regarding the influence of guerrilla marketing mostly focus on consumers, where the possible impacts on brands have been relatively neglected. This study attempts to fill this gap by focussing on the brand image.
Developing the resilient project professional: examining the student experience
Authors: Turner Michelle , Scott-Young Christina , Holdsworth Sarah
Published: November 2018

Purpose

Resilience development during university can increase the likelihood of positive employment outcomes for project management graduates in what is known as a stressful profession where the prevalence of project failure, job insecurity, and burnout is high. However, a focus on student resilience in project management education is scarce. The purpose of this paper is to address this gap by establishing a baseline profile of resilience for project management students, identifying priority areas of resilience development and exploring the relationship between resilience and well-being.

Design/methodology/approach

In total, 292 Australian students undertaking project management studies completed a survey comprising of the Resilience at University scale, the Short Warwick–Edinburgh Mental Well-being Scale and an item assessing sleep adequacy.

Findings

A resilience profile for undergraduate, postgraduate, male and female project management students was calculated. The resilience profile identified differences according to gender, and between undergraduate and postgraduate students. Mental well-being and adequate sleep were found to be significantly related to resilience.

Practical implications

Findings support the call for a greater emphasis on resilience development in the project management curriculum for undergraduates and postgraduates. One priority area likely to facilitate resilience is the ability to maintain perspective. As well as supporting academic achievement, it will assist graduates to navigate through complex, uncertain and challenging project environments.

Originality/value

This is the first known study of resilience for students undertaking project management studies in higher education.
The Community Empowerment Act and localism under devolution in Scotland
Authors: Elliott Ian Charles , Fejszes Violetta , Tàrrega Mariola
Published: November 2018

Purpose

In Scotland, the Community Empowerment (Scotland) Act represents a significant development towards greater localism in the way public services are designed and delivered in Scotland. This also represents a different approach to that adopted in the rest of the UK. The purpose of this paper is to explore the stakeholder perceptions of localism within a council ward.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper is based on an in-depth exploratory case study of a single council ward in East Scotland. The fieldwork involved 61 in-depth interviews with multiple stakeholders including local councillors, public service managers and residents.

Findings

The findings highlight that, whilst the discourse of community empowerment represents policy divergence, there remain some significant structural and social barriers to meaningful community empowerment in practice. Finally, it is argued that there are three key factors to consider when developing community empowerment: a shared strategy, shared resources and shared accountability.

Originality/value

The research draws on extensive data from an in-depth case study to explore the realities of community empowerment within a single local authority ward. In doing so, it provides a rich contextual narrative of how the rhetoric of community empowerment is perceived within a council ward setting.
Deploying partial least squares to investigate the influence of managerial assumptions on corporate social responsibility in the hotel industry
Authors: Abu Farha Allam K. , Al-Kwifi Osama Sam , Ahmed Zafar U.
Published: November 2018

Purpose

This paper aims to investigate the interplay between managerial assumptions and institutional corporate social responsibility, and determines how such fit affects performance.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors developed and tested a model using survey methodology. The authors’ data from 210 hotels located in Qatar and the UAE were analysed using the partial least squares (PLS) approach.

Findings

The results reveal that firms with entrepreneurial, political and professional frame of reference (FoR) engage in institutional corporate social responsibility (CSR) practices. In addition, the entrepreneurial and professional FoR enhances the institutional CSR – organisational performance link.

Research limitations/implications

The findings will help managers to determine the effect of their FoR on their adoption of institutional CSR, thereby increasing the effectiveness and efficiency of their CSR strategy. As the study is exploratory in nature, several limitations have been highlighted and discussed.

Originality/value

To the authors’ knowledge, this is one of the few papers that inspect the relationship between managerial assumptions and institutional CSR and establishes their effect on performance.
Are they willing to work for you? An employee-centric view to employer brand attractiveness
Authors: Ronda Lorena , Valor Carmen , Abril Carmen
Published: November 2018

Purpose

The present study aims to propose a novel employee-centric framework for the study of employer brand attractiveness. This framework disentangles the role of employer attributes, employee benefits and employee perceived value in the study of employer brands to better develop policies for talent attraction. Additionally, this study formulates a research agenda to help advance an employee-centric view of the employer’s brand management by following the tradition of customer-centric research and identifying benefits and forms of value that are yet unexplored.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper performs a systematic and critical review of the literature on employer brand attraction from the lens of means-end chains to examine how the notions of “employer attributes”, “employee benefits” and “perceived value” have been addressed in past studies and what relations have been established among these three concepts.

Findings

The results unveil the existing conflation among attributes, benefits and value in the conceptualization of employer brand attractiveness. By proposing an employee-centric framework following the tenets of current consumer-centric paradigms, this paper disentangles the notions of attributes, benefits and value in the creation of attractive employer brands; establishes a hierarchical relationship among them; and suggests studying the multiple paths of relationships between attributes and benefits. These conditions should help organizations understand how to create successful strategies to ultimately ensure that they are selected as employers of choice.

Research limitations/implications

Further research is needed to clarify the domains in which the already studied empirical relations hold. This could be achieved by conducting a laddering process based on a means–end chain approach. Additionally, the impact of this framework on the construction of effective value propositions and employee market segmentation should be further explored.

Originality/value

This paper has revisited the construct of employer brand from a means–ends approach to propose an employee-centric view guiding employer brand strategies. As competition for the best employees sharpens, understanding how employer brand traits are valued in the eyes of different segments of employees and applicants may help organizations to develop more effective strategies to attract the best talent.
Marketing of surveillance technology in three ageing countries
Authors: Vermeer Yvette , Higgs Paul , Charlesworth Georgina
Published: November 2018

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to review marketing materials of surveillance products for people with dementia and their carers in three ageing countries, as part of a dementia-technology media analysis.

Design/methodology/approach

An online environmental scan was conducted using search terms for surveillance technologies (STs) and dementia through a Google search focussed on the UK, Sweden and the Netherlands. Data were extracted on the products’ and websites’ marketing messages from consumer and marketer perspectives.

Findings

Information was gathered for 382 product websites, of which 242 met eligibility criteria. The majority of products come from the UK. In the UK and Sweden, the companies behind the websites appeared to be mainly “cottage industries” which focus on selling ST. In contrast, sellers in the Netherlands included a more balanced mixture of small, medium and large companies. In all three countries, the website messaging focussed on the need to manage safety concerns, without considering privacy or consent.

Social implications

Contrary to the perception of future dependence on technology, the ST sector seems to be a niche market. The media messages, equating people with dementia with animals and children, are at odds with initiatives that strive for dignity and dementia friendliness.

Originality/value

No previous study is known to have explored media messages from websites that market ST for people with dementia.
Unveiling the storied lives of teachers through qualitative bricolage
Authors: Green Jennifer
Published: November 2018

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to explore the storied lives of teacher leaders involved in the implementation of a dual language education program for elementary English learners with an emphasis on the role of reflexive methodology in bringing emergent themes to light.

Design/methodology/approach

The theory of qualitative bricolage informed the design of the study. Narrative inquiry with a heuristic lens allowed the researcher to explore the storied lives of teachers during an innovative change initiative.

Findings

Intergroup communication breakdowns between two diverse groups of teachers, European American and Latino, emerged as a relevant theme. The adaptive methodological approach was critical to the emergence of this theme, indicating that teacher leadership can and should be studied by teachers who know and empathize with the participants and their experiences.

Research limitations/implications

Teachers’ stories demonstrate that cross-cultural communication was challenging and ultimately, detrimental to the program’s development. These themes point to the need for further research regarding how diverse groups of school leaders interact on decision-making teams and how adaptive research techniques can assist in examining intergroup behavior.

Originality/value

Findings are presented via a polyphonic account that includes multiple teachers’ voices, concluding with found poetry that illustrates the challenge of communicating across the cultural divide.
Fuel for the pace of life: Baseline blood glucose concentration co‐evolves with life‐history traits in songbirds
Authors: Tomasek Oldrich , Bobek Lukas , Kralova Tereza , Adamkova Marie , Albrecht Tomas
Published: November 2018

It has been proposed that life histories have co‐evolved with a suite of physiological and behavioural adaptations, termed pace‐of‐life syndromes. Here, we hypothesise that basal concentration of blood glucose (G0), a major source of energy circulating in blood, may constitute a key component of pace‐of‐life syndromes.

To test this hypothesis, we measured G0 in 30 passerine species and tested its covariation with body mass and other life‐history traits. Importantly, body mass is a major life‐history determinant and, when its effect is controlled for, there may be no single fast–slow life‐history continuum in birds comprising both fecundity and life span. Hence, we used individual life‐history traits, rather than principal component analysis, to characterise life‐history variation in our analysis.

In support of G0‐life‐history co‐evolution, we found G0 to be negatively correlated with body mass and positively with reproductive investment in a single clutch across 30 passerine species. Higher G0 in females suggests that the energy demands of clutch production and incubation may be an important selection force driving co‐evolution of G0 with reproductive output.

In contrast, G0 was not associated with maximum life span, suggesting that high G0 may not constrain evolution of longevity. This implies that long‐lived species can evolve physiological adaptations preventing harmful effects of high glucose concentrations, known to cause pathologies and accelerate ageing.

In addition, G0, but not basal metabolic rate (BMR), was negatively correlated with migration distance, attesting to evolutionary changes in energy metabolism in long‐distance migrants. Our results further suggest that the links between body mass, reproduction and G0 are not mediated by BMR and that G0 is associated with fast–slow life‐history variation more closely than available BMR data.

A species life history is determined to a great extent by body mass. When this effect is controlled for, only those traits related to reproduction (but not life span) constitute the principal axis of life‐history variation in birds. Hence, the co‐evolution of G0 with body mass and reproductive output evidenced in our study indicates that G0 constitutes an important physiological component of pace‐of‐life syndromes.

A plain language summary is available for this article.
Radiofrequency ablation of osteoid osteoma: Aiming for excellent outcomes in an Australasian context
Authors: Doyle Anthony James , Graydon Andrew John , Hanlon Michael Murray , French John Gary
Published: November 2018

Introduction

To report a series of patients with osteoid osteoma treated by radiofrequency ablation in whom no complications or recurrences occurred.

Methods

Over a 13‐year period, 32 consecutive patients with osteoid osteoma were treated by radiofrequency ablation in an Australasian teaching centre.

Results

All patients had resolution of symptoms with no complication or recurrence.

Conclusions

This series is further evidence for the use of radiofrequency ablation as the primary treatment for osteoid osteoma.
Development of angiosarcoma in a mediastinal non‐seminomatous germ cell tumor that exhibited growing teratoma syndrome during chemotherapy
Authors: Matsuoka Shunichiro , Koyama Tsutomu , Takeda Tetsu , Yamada Kyoko , Hyogotani Akira , Hamanaka Kazutoshi , Sekiguchi Nodoka , Koizumi Tomonobu
Published: November 2018

Herein, we report a case of an angiosarcoma in a mediastinal non‐seminomatous germ cell tumor that exhibited growing teratoma syndrome during chemotherapy. A 26‐year‐old man presented with a giant anterior mediastinal mass, which was diagnosed as a non‐seminomatous germ cell tumor. The patient was administered three cycles of chemotherapy (bleomycin, etoposide, and cisplatin), but the mass grew despite normalization of tumor markers. Massive bleeding during thoracic surgery resulted in incomplete resection, and the mass was clinically and pathologically diagnosed as growing teratoma syndrome (only mature teratoma). The residual mass continued to grow, and complete resection was subsequently achieved after a detailed analysis of its vascular anatomy using angiography. The final pathological findings revealed angiosarcoma, which indicated a rare somatic type of mediastinal non‐seminomatous germ cell tumor.
Business, Governments and Political Risk in South Asia and Latin America since 1970
Authors: Jones Geoffrey , Comunale Rachael
Published: November 2018

This article examines how businesses perceived political risk in South Asia and Latin America over the last half century. Employing data from an oral history database at Harvard Business School, the article identifies five major sources of political risk: macroeconomic and policy turbulence, excessive bureaucracy, political instability, corruption, and violence. Marked regional differences were identified in perceptions and responses to risks. Macroeconomic and policy turbulence was the biggest perceived source of risk in Latin America. Excessive bureaucracy was the biggest source of perceived risk in South Asia. South Asian businesses often avoided bureaucracies, while Latin Americans worked with them.
Modelling the distribution of the invasive Ziziphus mauritiana along road corridors in Zimbabwe
Authors: Mungate Pauline N. P. , Masocha Mhosisi , Dube Timothy
Published: November 2018

We investigate how human fruit consumption affects the spread of the alien invasive Ziziphus mauritiana along road corridors in northern Zimbabwe. A field survey was conducted to identify and map Z. Mauritiana stems at 25 randomly located 6‐ha plots placed along two main roads connecting the Zambezi Valley to the Highveld region. The L‐function was used to test for evidence of significant spatial clustering of the stems. The inhomogeneous point model fitted by maximum likelihood was also applied to check whether distance from the road explains variation in the number of stems per unit area. Finally, a t test was executed on log‐transformed abundance data to test for significant differences in the mean number of saplings and adults between the Zambezi Valley and the Highveld. Results of the L‐function indicated that Z. mauritiana had a clustered and linear distribution along roads both in the Zambezi Valley and Highveld regions. Results of the t test showed that the mean number of saplings per plot in the Zambezi Valley (μ1 = 275) was three times higher than in the Highveld (μ2 = 78), with p < 0.01. The mean number of adult trees was also significantly higher in the Zambezi Valley than in the Highveld.
Exercise training remodels human skeletal muscle mitochondrial fission and fusion machinery towards a pro‐elongation phenotype
Authors: Axelrod Christopher L. , Fealy Ciarán E. , Mulya Anny , Kirwan John P.
Published: November 2018

Aims

Mitochondria exist as a morphologically plastic network driven by cellular bioenergetic demand. Induction of fusion and fission machinery allows the organelle to regulate quality control and substrate flux. Physiological stressors promote fragmentation of the mitochondrial network, a process implicated in the onset of metabolic disease, including type 2 diabetes and obesity. It is well‐known that exercise training improves skeletal muscle mitochondrial volume, number, and density. However, the effect of exercise training on muscle mitochondrial dynamics remains unclear.

Methods

Ten sedentary adults (65.8 ± 4.6 years; 34.3 ± 2.4 kg/m2) underwent 12 weeks of supervised aerobic exercise training (5 day/wk, 85% of HRMAX). Body composition, cardio‐metabolic testing, hyperinsulinaemic‐euglycaemic clamps, and skeletal muscle biopsies were performed before and after training. MFN1, MFN2, OPA1, OMA1, FIS1, Parkin, PGC‐1α, and HSC70 protein expression was assessed via Western blot.

Results

Exercise training led to improvements in insulin sensitivity, aerobic capacity, and fat oxidation (all P < 0.01), as well as reductions in body weight, BMI, fat mass and fasting glucose (all P < 0.001). When normalized for changes in mitochondrial content, exercise reduced skeletal muscle FIS1 and Parkin (P < 0.05), while having no significant effect on MFN1, MFN2, OPA1, and OMA1 expression. Exercise also improved the ratio of fusion to fission proteins (P < 0.05), which positively correlated with improvements in glucose disposal (r2 = 0.59, P < 0.05).

Conclusions

Exercise training alters the expression of mitochondrial fusion and fission proteins, promoting a more fused, tubular network. These changes may contribute to the improvements in insulin sensitivity and substrate utilization that are observed after exercise training.
Why the term “larva” is ambiguous, or what makes a larva?
Authors: Haug Joachim T.
Published: November 2018

The term “larva” is used for many different metazoans. Although this implies a uniform meaning, the term has in fact been used to address immatures with very different characteristics. For providing more precise reference how the term larva is applied in a specific context, I outline here different criteria that have been used to identify an immature as a larva. These include larvae that (a) differ morphologically from their adult (morpho‐larva s. l.); (b) differ morphologically from their adult and additionally possess structures that become reduced during ontogeny (morpho‐larva s. str.); (c) have a different ecological niche than their adult (eco‐larva s. l.); (d) have a different ecological niche than their adult and additionally fulfil a dispersal function (eco‐larva s. str.); (e) transform by a metamorphosis to the non‐larval immature or adult (metamorph‐larva); (f) differ from the adult by having evolved new structures in the early stages (apo‐larva); (g) differ from the adult as the adult has evolved new structures (plesio‐larva). The differentiation of these criteria will provide a more precise reference reducing possible misunderstanding and allowing a more precise communication.
Measuring labor and delivery unit culture and clinicians’ attitudes toward birth: Revision and validation of the Labor Culture Survey
Authors: White VanGompel Emily , Perez Susan , Wang Chi , Datta Avisek , Cape Valerie , Main Elliott
Published: November 2018

Background

Cesarean delivery rates in the United States vary widely between hospitals, which cannot be fully explained by hospital or patient factors. Cultural factors are hypothesized to play a role in cesarean overuse, yet tools to measure labor culture are lacking. The aim of this study was to revise and validate a survey tool to measure hospital culture specific to cesarean overuse.

Methods

A panel of clinicians and researchers compiled an item bank from validated surveys, added newly created items, and performed four rounds of iterative revision and consolidation. Obstetricians, family physicians, midwives, anesthesiologists, and labor nurses were recruited from 79 hospitals in California. Exploratory factor analysis was used to reduce the number of survey items and identify latent constructs to form the basis of subscales. Confirmatory factor analysis examined reliability in 31 additional hospitals. Poisson regression assessed associations between hospitals’ mean score on each individual item and cesarean rates.

Results

A total of 1718 individuals from 70 hospitals were included in the exploratory factor analysis. The final Labor Culture Survey (LCS) consisted of 29 items and six subscales: “Best Practices to Reduce Cesarean Overuse,” “Fear of Vaginal Birth,” “Unit Microculture,” “Physician Oversight,” “Maternal Agency,” and “Cesarean Safety.”

Conclusions

The revised LCS is a valid and reliable tool to measure constructs shown to be associated with cesarean rates. These findings support prior research that has shown that hospital culture is measurable, and that clinician attitudes are predictive of clinician behaviors. Unique to our survey is the construct of labor and delivery unit microculture.
Cumulative anthracycline exposure and risk of cardiotoxicity; a Danish nationwide cohort study of 2440 lymphoma patients treated with or without anthracyclines
Authors: Baech Joachim , Hansen Steen M. , Lund Peter E. , Soegaard Peter , Brown Peter de Nully , Haaber Jacob , Jørgensen Judit , Starklint Jørn , Josefsson Pär , Poulsen Christian B. , Juul Maja B. , Torp‐Pedersen Christian , El‐Galaly Tarec C.
Published: November 2018

Cardiotoxicity is a known risk of anthracycline treatment. However, the relative contribution of anthracyclines to the development of congestive heart failure (CHF), when included in a poly‐chemotherapy regimen, is unclear. We examined cardiotoxicity in adult patients with diffuse large B‐cell lymphoma and follicular lymphoma undergoing first‐line immunochemotherapy from 2000–2012. In total, 2440 patients without previous heart disease were identified from the Danish Lymphoma Registry, of which 1994 (81·7%) were treated with anthracycline‐containing chemotherapy [R‐CHOP (rituximab, cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin, vincristine, prednisolone) or R‐CHOEP (R‐CHOP + etoposide)] and 446 (18·3%) were treated without anthracyclines (reference group). Compared to the reference group, the adjusted hazard ratio of CHF after 3–5 cycles of R‐CHOP/CHOEP was 5·0 [95% confidence interval (CI) 1·4; 18·5], 6 cycles 6·8 (95% CI 2·0; 23·3) and >6 cycles 13·4 (95% CI 4·0; 45·0). The cumulative 5‐year risk of CHF with all‐cause mortality as competing risk was 4·6% after 3–5 cycles of R‐CHOP/CHOEP, 4·5% after 6 and 7·9% after more than 6 cycles. Cumulative 5‐year risk for patients treated without anthracyclines was 0·8%. Using anthracyclines in first‐line lymphoma treatment increases risk of CHF in patients without previous history of heart disease. In particular, treatment with >6 cycles of R‐CHOP/CHOEP is associated with a significant increase in CHF rate.
The effect of age in patients with acquired aplastic anaemia treated with immunosuppressive therapy: comparison of Adolescents and Young Adults with children and older adults
Authors: Cabannes‐Hamy Aurélie , Boissel Nicolas , Peffault De Latour Régis , Lengliné Etienne , Leblanc Thierry , de Fontbrune Flore S. , Raffoux Emmanuel , Robin Marie , Xhaard Aliénor , Baruchel André , Socié Gérard , Dhédin Nathalie
Published: November 2018

The incidence of acquired aplastic anaemia (AA) peaks in adolescents and young adults (AYA). Although age has been associated with response after immunosuppressive therapy (IST), few data exist about the specific outcome of AYA. We retrospectively compared the outcome of 29 children (aged <15 years), 32 AYA (15–25 years) and 23 adults (>25 years) with AA treated front‐line with IST in Saint‐Louis Hospital. The cumulative incidence of response was lower in adults compared with AYA (subdistribution hazard ratio [SHR] = 0·38, 95% confidence interval [CI] [0·96–1·00], P = 0·008), but no difference was observed between children and AYA (SHR = 0·84, 95% CI [0·96–1·00], P = 0·56), with a 6 months cumulative incidence of partial response of 44·8% in children, 62·5% in AYA and 21·7% in adults. The 5‐year failure‐free survival was 48·4%, without impact of age, with a 5‐year relapse rate of 20·7%. With a median follow‐up of 5·4 years, the 5‐year overall survival was 86·5%, without significant difference between children and AYA overall survival (hazard ratio [HR] 1·51, 95% CI [0·25–9·02], P = 0·66), while adults displayed poorer survival than AYA (HR 4·98, 95% CI [1·00–24·73], P = 0·049). This study confirms that age is a prognostic factor in AA patients treated with IST. However, AYA patients have a similar outcome to children in terms of response rate and survival.
The treatment of older Hodgkin lymphoma patients
Authors: Böll Boris , Görgen Helen
Published: November 2018

The outcome of patients with Hodgkin lymphoma (HL) has dramatically improved over the past decades and continues to improve with the development of novel targeted therapies, such as the immunoconjugate brentuximab vedotin and the checkpoint inhibitors nivolumab and pembrolizumab. Moreover, with the use of response‐adapted strategies using positron‐emission‐tomography (PET), the overall intensity of treatment for most patients can be reduced, resulting in less acute and late toxicity. However, these advances are mainly restricted to younger patients, as advances in patients above the age of 60 years (‘older’ patients) have been much less pronounced. Furthermore, about one third of all HL patients are among the older population, but only 5–10% of the patients treated in current HL clinical trials are ≥60 years old. HL in older patients is characterized by aggressive disease and unfavourable prognostic features as B symptoms and predominance of advanced stages. In addition, tolerance to curative chemotherapy is drastically reduced in older patients resulting in excessive toxicity and insufficient treatment due to therapy delays and dose reductions. Therefore, there is a significant unmet medical need in older HL patients for less toxic and effective therapies, and an important gap of knowledge concerning this growing population of patients. Recent advances on epidemiology, characteristics and treatment of older HL patients will be summarized in this article.
Mesenchymal stem cells gene signature in high‐risk myeloma bone marrow linked to suppression of distinct IGFBP2‐expressing small adipocytes
Authors: Mehdi Syed J. , Johnson Sarah K. , Epstein Joshua , Zangari Maurizio , Qu Pingping , Hoering Antje , van Rhee Frits , Schinke Carolina , Thanendrarajan Sharmilan , Barlogie Bart , Davies Faith E. , Morgan Gareth J. , Yaccoby Shmuel
Published: November 2018

Recent studies suggest that multiple myeloma (MM) induces proliferation and expansion of bone marrow (BM) mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs), but others showed that MM cells induce MSC senescence. To clarify the interaction between MM and MSCs, we exploited our established MSC gene signature to identify gene expression changes in myeloma MSCs and associated functional differences. Single MSCs from patients with MM had changes in expression of genes associated with cellular proliferation and senescence and a higher proportion of senescent cells and lower proliferative potential than those from age‐matched healthy donors. Single MSCs from both sources heterogeneously express MSC genes associated with adipogenesis and osteoblastogenesis. We identified the gene encoding insulin‐like growth factor‐binding protein 2 (IGFBP2), an MSC gene commonly altered in high risk MM, as under‐expressed. Morphologically, IGFBP2+ cells are underrepresented in MM BM compared to smouldering MM. Strong IGFBP2 and adiponectin co‐expression was detected in a subset of small adipocytes. Co‐culturing normal MSCs with myeloma cells suppressed MSC differentiation to adipocytes and osteoblasts, and reduced expression of IGFBP2 and adiponectin. Recombinant IGFBP2 blocked IGF1‐mediated myeloma cell growth. Our data demonstrate that myeloma MSCs are less proliferative and that IGFBP2+ small adipocytes are a distinct mesenchymal cell population suppressed by myeloma.
A dialogic approach to working inclusively in a Research Reference Committee
Authors: Lloyd Janette , Jobling Anne , White Emma Louise , Labosse Michel , Moni Karen , Cuskelly Monica , McMahon Mary
Published: November 2018

Accessible summary

People with intellectual disability do not often take part in research.

We wanted to include people with intellectual disability on our research committee.

We worked with two people with intellectual disability to help with their roles on the research committee. We talk about some ideas that made this work well.

Two people with intellectual disability share their ideas on being a part of a Research Reference Committee.

This paper reports the use of a dialogic approach to working inclusively with two young people with intellectual disability as part of a Research Reference Committee for a project that examined how adults with intellectual disability and their families plan for their future. The paper begins with an overview of the role of the Research Reference Committee written by the research team to provide the context for reporting. We then discuss and reflect on how we used mediated talk to working with the young people with intellectual disability to develop strategies for enabling them to actively contribute to the reference committee. The third section of the paper was co‐written with authors 3 and 4. The structure follows their decisions about how they wanted to write this section in ways that allowed them to tell their stories of participation as narratives, using their own words. In the discussion, we acknowledge the challenges of co‐authorship and consider the benefits of using an iterative dialogical approach to enable the active participation of these young people in a reference committee, and as a method of co‐authoring that allows a broader dissemination the voices of the young people with intellectual disability in research outputs.
Changes in dental anxiety among 15‐ to 21‐year‐olds. A 2‐year longitudinal analysis based on the Tromsø study: Fit futures
Authors: Nermo Hege , Willumsen Tiril , Johnsen Jan‐Are K.
Published: November 2018

Objective

Identify predictive variables related to the development and continuation of high dental anxiety among young people over 2 years and assess differences between youth experiencing increased, decreased or unchanged dental anxiety scores over time.

Methods

An observational panel study of 15‐ to 21‐year‐old people in Tromsø and Balsfjord region followed students from their first to their last year of upper secondary school (2010/11‐2012/13). Logistic regression was used to estimate odds ratios and their 95% confidence intervals (CI) of possible predictive variables assessed at baseline when using dental anxiety score from the second wave as a dichotomous dependent variable. Variables measured at baseline: Sex, Dental Caries Experiences (DMFS index), Dental Anxiety (Corah's Dental Anxiety Scale/DAS), Psychological Distress (Hopkins Symptom Checklist/HSCL‐10), Avoidance of dental treatment, Pain Estimation at the dentist and motivational questions related to tooth brushing and caries (Self and Social Motivation). Wilcoxon signed‐rank tests and Kruskal‐Wallis tests were used to test whether changes in DAS score between waves were associated with changes in Pain Estimation between waves and HSCL‐10 scores at baseline.

Results

Hopkins Symptom Checklist, DMFS and DAS scores at baseline predicted high dental anxiety scores after 2 years. Sex, motivation related to oral hygiene and avoidance due to fear at baseline did not contribute significantly to our model. DMFS and HSCL‐10 were higher among young people who reported a substantial change in DAS score (2.0 > Interquartile range/IQR), irrespective of the direction of change. Pain Estimation changed consistently with a change in DAS score.

Conclusion

Mental health symptoms, pre‐existing dental anxiety and dental health status are important contributors to the development of dental anxiety in youth. Estimations of pain at the dentist are central when it comes to changes in dental anxiety over time in this study.
The fat mass and obesity related gene polymorphism influences the risk of rejection in heart transplant patients
Authors: Hubacek Jaroslav A. , Vymetalova Jevgenija , Lanska Vera , Dlouha Dana
Published: November 2018

Heart transplantation is a relatively common treatment for end‐stage heart failure. The major complication of heart transplantation is organ rejection. Epigenetic could play a role in the pathogenesis of organ rejection, and theFTOgene is a mediator of DNA methylation. We analyzed a taggingFTOSNP rs17817449 in both donor and recipient DNA obtained through 370 heart transplantations. RecipientFTOgenotypes were not associated with either type of rejection or with the general increase in the risk of rejection. When compared with patients without a history of rejection, carriers of transplanted hearts with theFTOTT genotype exhibited a significantly increased risk (P = 0.02) of suffering from both types of rejection in comparison to carriers of hearts with at least one G allele (OR; 95% CI = 2.56; 1.15‐5.69). Our results suggest that the donor, but not the recipient,FTOgenotype could be a significant predictor of acute rejection in heart transplant patients.
Mitochondrial dysfunction and oxidative stress in induced pluripotent stem cell models of Parkinson's disease
Authors: Bose Anindita , Beal M. Flint
Published: November 2018

Parkinson's disease (PD) is the second most common neurodegenerative disease. Two percent of the population above the age of 60 is affected by the disease. The pathological hallmarks of PD include loss of dopaminergic neurons and the presence of Lewy bodies. Mitochondrial dysfunction and oxidative stress are thought to play a pivotal role in both sporadic and familial forms of the disease. In this review we focus on the role of mitochondrial dysfunction and oxidative stress in induced pluripotent stem cell (IPSC) models of PD.We also provide an overview of therapeutics that have been tested and some possible new therapeutics that can be tested in IPSC models of PD.
Dual effects of reversed winter–spring temperatures on year‐to‐year variation in the recruitment of chub mackerel (Scomber japonicus)
Authors: Kaneko Hitoshi , Okunishi Takeshi , Seto Takashi , Kuroda Hiroshi , Itoh Sachihiko , Kouketsu Shinya , Hasegawa Daisuke
Published: November 2018

To clarify the effects of temperature on the recruitment of chub mackerel (Scomber japonicus) in the North Pacific, we investigated the influence of winter surface temperature (WST) on spawners at the time of maturity around the spawning grounds and the influence of ambient spring temperature on larvae using estimated temperature (ET) obtained from particle tracking experiments. We found a significant positive correlation between ET approximately 10 days following hatching and the recruitment per spawning stock biomass (RPS) after 2000. The closer (more meandering) the Kuroshio Current (KC) axis was in relation to the spawning ground, the higher (lower) the spring surface temperature and the higher (lower) RPS was in the spawning ground. In contrast, WST inside KC near the maturity/spawning ground was significantly negatively correlated with RPS. A significant negative correlation between the temperatures in winter and spring was detected in the area after 2000, when the conditions of the Pacific decadal oscillation index and the stability of the Kuroshio Extension were synchronous, indicating that KC shifted northward during this time. The reversed temperature pattern was consistent with the winter–spring movement of KC axis in the offshore direction and was correlated with the winter–spring difference in the intensity of the Aleutian low. These results suggest that the annual variation in chub mackerel recruitment after 2000 was strongly affected by the combined effects of ambient temperature because of the reversal of conditions that occurred between winter and spring around the maturity/spawning ground, which was related to the KC path.
Integrated Deep Soil N and Groundwater Isotope Investigation of N Sources Captured by Municipal Wells
Authors: Spalding Roy F. , Hirsh Aaron J. , Exner Mary E. , Stange Marty , Aravena Ramon
Published: November 2018

Identification of major nitrate sources that adversely impact groundwater quality in municipal well capture zones in areas of emerging nitrate contamination is essential to minimize leaching and prevent exceedance of the nitrate drinking water standard. Vertical profiles of nitrate leachate in deep soils provide an estimate of the amount of nitrate in transit beneath irrigated, row‐cropped fields; depths of peak leachate; and the approximate rate of downward movement. Profiles of pore‐water soil‐nitrate concentrations in thick 60‐feet (~18 m), fine‐textured soils near Hastings, Nebraska clearly indicate that considerably more nitrate leached beneath furrow‐irrigated than center‐pivot irrigated fields. Peak leaching appeared to correlate with recorded periods of poor weather conditions during some growing seasons and may best be controlled by “spoon feeding” fertilizer to the crop through the sprinkler irrigation system at times of nutrient need. The presence of trace levels of atrazine and deethylatrazine to 60 feet (18 m) in core samples indicates that larger, more complex anthropogenic molecules also leach through the fine‐textured soils. The light δ15NNO3 values in the surficial groundwater beneath fertilized and irrigated cropland indicate that ammonium fertilizer is a major N source and suggest that the natural soil‐N contribution is negligible. δ15NNO3 values were most enriched in irrigation wells located within municipal well capture zones downgradient of a large feedlot. Dual isotope method (DIM) δ15NNO3 and δ18ONO3 values suggest that the Hastings’ municipal wells farther downgradient are contaminated with a mixture of nitrate from manure and commercial ammonium‐based fertilizer. DIM values indicate an absence of denitrification, which has implications for long‐term management of the water resources.
Guided root canal preparation using cone beam computed tomography and optical surface scans – an observational study of pulp space obliteration and drill path depth in 50 patients
Authors: Buchgreitz J. , Buchgreitz M. , Bjørndal L.
Published: November 2018

Aim

To report the precision of guided access cavity preparations in relation to demographical and dental variables in 50 patients.

Methodology

This observational study was carried out during the period 2014–2017. The patients were consecutive referrals to a private endodontic practice. The inclusion criteria were as follows: (i) pulp space obliteration associated with signs of apical periodontitis (PAI score >3 or sensitive to percussion, (ii) teeth with pulp space obliteration in need of a post, where the referring dentist had attempted or failed to negotiate the obliterated root canal (and it was not possible to negotiate using the operating microscope within a reasonable time frame) and (iii) a surgical intervention was not justified. A published methodology for guided endodontics was used. Measures on demographical and previous dental history were analysed and related to drill path precision, being evaluated on radiographs as optimal (centre of the root canal) or acceptable (peripheral/tangential). The chi‐square test was used for analyses of correlation between predictor variables and binary logistic regression analysis using backward elimination with degree of obliteration, guided access cavity preparation depth and precision as dependent variables. Significance level was 0.05.

Results

Thirty‐one female (median age 65 year) and 19 males (median age 69 year) were enrolled. Overall, 88% (n = 44) of the teeth had pulp space obliteration associated with signs of apical periodontitis, whereas the remaining teeth were in need of a post. The pulp space obliterations were longer in maxillary compared with mandibular teeth (P = 0.024). The performance of the drill path in mandibular teeth versus maxillary teeth resulted in a significantly greater number of optimal precision scores (P = 0.033), and when a previous attempt at access and canal negotiation had occurred versus no attempt (P = 0.009). Even in cases with the worst outcome, the technique was still successful clinically.

Conclusions

The clinical implementation of guided root canal treatment in fifty serial cases of single‐rooted teeth with pulp space obliteration was associated with a precision that in all cases led to the location and negotiation of the root canal and completion of the treatment.
The effects of meteorological factors on influenza among children in Guangzhou, China
Authors: Guo Qiaozhi , Dong Zhiqiang , Zeng Weilin , Ma Wenjun , Zhao Danyang , Sun Xin , Gong Sitang , Xiao Jianpeng , Li Tiegang , Hu Wensui
Published: November 2018

Background

Influenza seriously affects the health of children, yet little evidence is available on the association between meteorological factors and the occurrence of influenza among children in subtropical regions. The current study aimed to explore the effects of meteorological factors on influenza among children in Guangzhou, a subtropical city in China.

Methods

The distributed lag nonlinear model (DLNM) was used to assess the effects of meteorological factors on children influenza occurrence in Guangzhou, China. Daily number of influenza cases among children aged 0‐17 years from 2013 to 2017 were obtained from the National Information System for Disease Control and Prevention.

Results

Mean temperature, relative humidity, and atmospheric pressure were associated with influenza cases. The relative risks (RRs) increased as temperature fell below 20°C. The relationship between relative humidity and influenza cases could be described with a U‐shaped curve, and the RRs increased if relative humidity was lower than 50% or higher than 80%. The risk of influenza increased with rising atmospheric pressure with 1005 hPa as the break point. The cold effect, humid effect, dry effect, high‐pressure effect, and low‐pressure effect showed statistical significance both in female and male. The cold effect increased with age. The humid‐effect affects all age ranges of children, but dry effect mainly affected 4‐14 years old. High‐pressure effect mainly affected the 0‐3 years old, whereas low‐pressure effect protected preschool children aged 0‐6 years old.

Conclusion

Mean temperature, relative humidity, and atmospheric pressure might be important predictors of the influenza occurrence among children in Guangzhou.