bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Location is everything: The hemodynamic effects of REBOA in Zone 1 versus Zone 3 of the aorta
Authors: Tibbits Emily M. , Hoareau Guillaume L. , Simon Meryl A. , Davidson Anders J. , DeSoucy Erik S. , Faulconer E. Robert , DuBose Joseph J. , Neff Lucas P. , Grayson J. Kevin , Williams Timothy K. , Johnson M. Austin
Published: February 2018

OBJECTIVES

Resuscitative endovascular balloon occlusion of the aorta (REBOA) is an emerging technology to augment proximal blood pressure during the resuscitation of patients with noncompressible torso hemorrhage. Currently, placement choice, supraceliac (Zone 1) versus infrarenal (Zone 3) aorta, depends on injury patterns, but remains a highly debated topic. We sought to compare the proximal hemodynamic support provided by Zone 1 versus Zone 3 REBOA placement and the degree of hemodynamic instability upon reperfusion following intervention.

METHODS

Eighteen anesthetized swine underwent controlled hemorrhage of 25% total blood volume, followed by 45 minutes of Zone 1 REBOA, Zone 3 REBOA, or no intervention (control). They were then resuscitated with shed blood, aortic balloons were deflated, and 5 hours of critical care ensued prior to euthanasia. Physiologic parameters were recorded continuously, and blood was drawn for analysis at specified intervals. Significance was defined as p < 0.05.

RESULTS

There were no significant differences between groups at baseline or during the initial 30 minutes of hemorrhage. During the intervention period, average proximal MAP was significantly greater in Zone 1 animals when compared with Zone 3 animals (127.9 ± 1.3 vs. 53.4 ± 1.1 mm Hg) and greater in Zone 3 animals when compared with control animals (42.9 ± 0.9 mm Hg). Lactate concentrations were significantly higher in Zone 1 animals (9.6 ± 0.4 mmol/L) when compared with Zone 3 animals (5.1 ± 0.3 mmol/L) and control animals (4.2 ± 0.8 mmol/L).

CONCLUSIONS

In our swine model of hemorrhagic shock, Zone 3 REBOA provided minimal proximal hemodynamic support when compared with Zone 1 REBOA, albeit with less ischemic burden and instability upon reperfusion. In cases of impending hemodynamic collapse, Zone 1 REBOA placement may be more efficacious regardless of injury pattern, whereas Zone 3 should be reserved only for relatively stable patients with ongoing distal hemorrhage.
Of mice and mental health: facilitating dialogue and seeing further
Authors: Milton Amy L. , Holmes Emily A.
Published: February 2018

The science of mental life is critical for understanding both how we function, and impairments in our functioning. However, understanding the causal mechanisms underlying mental health disorders and developing new treatments are challenges too great to be solved by any individual approach. There is a growing awareness that translational research—from laboratory to patient and back again to animal models—will be critical for the improved understanding and treatment of mental health disorders. The motivation and intention to pursue translational approaches is therefore strong in mental health research, but critically, opportunities for interaction between basic scientists and clinicians are relatively limited, and vary depending on the institution in which researchers are working. This has promoted the development of a ‘culture gap’ between basic and clinical scientists that limits interaction and sharing of knowledge. Here, we provide 14 examples of contemporary translational research and call for an increased collaborative approach to mental health research that spans clinical diagnoses, levels of analysis and bridges between basic to clinical mental health sciences, including, but not limited to, psychology and neuroscience. What is needed is an inclusive and integrated approach, bringing together scientists working at all levels of enquiry with clinicians providing insights on what works (and what does not). To stimulate the much-needed innovation in therapeutic techniques, an analysis of component parts is critical. Our approach suggests simplifying complex behaviours into distinct psychological components. Asking collaboratively driven scientific questions about dysfunction will also benefit our fundamental understanding of mental life.

This article is part of a discussion meeting issue ‘Of mice and mental health: facilitating dialogue between basic and clinical neuroscientists'.
The neural correlates of temperamental inhibitory control in toddlers
Authors: Hoyniak Caroline P. , Petersen Isaac T. , Bates John E. , Molfese Dennis L.
Published: February 2018

The current study examined the association between effortful control and a well-studied neural index of self-regulation, the N2 event-related potential (ERP) component, in toddlers. Participants included 107 toddlers (44 girls) assessed at 30, 36 and 42 months of age. Participants completed a Go/NoGo task while electroencephalography data were recorded. The study focused on the N2 ERP component. Parent-reported effortful control was examined in association with the NoGo N2 ERP component. Findings suggest a positive association between the NoGo N2 component and the inhibitory control subscale of the wider effortful control dimension, suggesting that the N2 component may index processes associated with temperamental effortful control.

This article is part of the theme issue ‘Diverse perspectives on diversity: multi-disciplinary approaches to taxonomies of individual differences’.
Assessing the continuum between temperament and affective illness: psychiatric and mathematical perspectives
Authors: Sulis William
Published: February 2018

Temperament of healthy people and mental illnesses, particularly affective disorders, have been conjectured to lie along a continuum of neurobehavioural regulation. Understanding the nature of this continuum may better inform the construction of taxonomies for both categories of behaviour. Both temperament and mental illness refer to patterns of behaviour that manifest over long time scales (weeks to years) and they appear to share many underlying neuroregulatory systems. This continuum is discussed from the perspectives of nonlinear dynamical systems theory, neurobiology and psychiatry as applied to understanding such multiscale time-series behaviour. Particular emphasis is given to issues of generativity, fungibility, metastability, non-stationarity and contextuality. Implications of these dynamical properties for the development of taxonomies will be discussed. Problems with the over-reliance of psychologists on statistical and mathematical methods in deriving their taxonomies (particularly those based on factor analysis) will be discussed from a dynamical perspective. An alternative approach to temperament based upon functionality, and its discriminative capabilities in mental illness, is presented.

This article is part of the theme issue ‘Diverse perspectives on diversity: multi-disciplinary approaches to taxonomies of individual differences’.
Biased parasitoid sex ratios:Wolbachia, functional traits, local and landscape effects
Authors: László Zoltán , Dénes Avar-Lehel , Király Lajos , Tóthmérész Béla
Published: February 2018

Adult sex ratio (ASR) is a demographic key parameter, being essential for the survival and dynamics of a species populations. Biased ASR are adaptations to the environment on different scales, resulted by different mechanisms as inbreeding, mating behaviour, resource limitations, endosymbionts such asWolbachia, and changes in density or spatial distribution. Parasitoid ASRs are also known to be strongly biased. But less information is available on large scale variable effects such as landscape composition or fragmentation. We aimed to study whether the landscape scale does affect the ASR of parasitoids belonging to the same tritrophic gall inducer community. We examined effects of characteristics on different scales as functional trait, local and landscape scale environment on parasitoid ASR. On species level ovipositor length, on local scale resource amount and density, while on landscape scale habitat amount, land use and landscape history were the examined explanatory variables. We controlled for the incidence and prevalence ofWolbachiainfections. Parasitoid ASR is best explained by ovipositor length: with which increase ASR also increases; and available resource amount: with the gall diameter increase ASR decreases. On large scale the interaction of functional traits with habitat size also explained significantly the parasitoid ASRs. Our results support the hypothesis that large scale environmental characteristics affect parasitoid ASRs besides intrinsic and local characteristics.
Species delimitation and biogeography of the gnatcatchers and gnatwrens (Aves: Polioptilidae)
Authors: Smith Brian Tilston , Bryson Robert W. , Mauck William M. , Chaves Jaime , Robbins Mark B. , Aleixo Alexandre , Klicka John
Published: February 2018

The New World avian family Polioptilidae (gnatcatchers and gnatwrens) is distributed from Argentina to Canada and includes 15 species and more than 60 subspecies. No study to date has evaluated phylogenetic relationships within this family and the historical pattern of diversification within the group remains unknown. Moreover, species limits, particularly in widespread taxa that show geographic variation, remain unclear. In this study, we delimited species and estimated phylogenetic relationships using multilocus data for the entire family. We then used the inferred diversity along with alternative taxonomic classification schemes to evaluate how lumping and splitting of both taxa and geographical areas influenced biogeographic inference. Species-tree analyses grouped Polioptilidae into four main clades:Microbates,Ramphocaenus, aPolioptila guianensiscomplex, and the remaining members ofPolioptila.Ramphocaenus melanuruswas sister to the clade containingM. cinereiventrisandM. collaris, which formed a clade sister to all species withinPolioptila.Polioptilawas composed of two clades, the first of which included theP. guianensiscomplex; the other contained all remaining species in the genus. Using multispecies coalescent modeling, we inferred a more than 3-fold increase in species diversity, of which 87% represent currently recognized species or subspecies. Much of this diversity corresponded to subspecies that occur in the Neotropics. We identified three polyphyletic species, and delimited 4–6 previously undescribed candidate taxa. Probabilistic modeling of geographic ranges on the species tree indicated that the family likely had an ancestral origin in South America, with all three genera independently colonizing North America. Support for this hypothesis, however, was sensitive to the taxonomic classification scheme used and the number of geographical areas allowed. Our study proposes the first phylogenetic hypothesis for Polioptilidae and provides genealogical support for the reclassification of species limits. Species limits and the resolution of geographical areas that taxa inhabit influence the inferred spatial diversification history.
A Signature of Passivity? An Explorative Study of the N3 Event-Related Potential Component in Passive Oddball Tasks
Authors: Kotchoubey Boris , Pavlov Yuri G.
Published: February 2018

Background

Many passive oddball experiments show a sharp negative deflection N3 after P3b, peaking between 400 and 500 ms, but this wave has never been analyzed properly. We conducted five passive oddball experiments, in which the number of deviants (i.e., one or two), their alleged meaning, and their distinctiveness varied.

Results

Mastoid- or common-referenced waveforms showed a fronto-central N3 in all experiments. The data were CSD (Current Source Density) transformed and underwent a Principal Component Analysis (PCA). The PCA revealed N3 containing two subcomponents with very stable peak latencies of about 415 and 455 ms, respectively. Both topography of the subcomponents and their variation with experimental conditions were very similar, indicating a midfrontal sink and a posterior temporal source. An analysis of P3a and P3b components replicated previously known effects.

Conclusions

We discuss the similarities and differences between the passive N3 and other components including the MMN, N1, late positive Slow Wave, and reorienting negativity. We also make general hypotheses about a possible functional meaning of N3; on this basis, specific hypotheses are formulated and further experiments are suggested to test these hypotheses.
Structural basis of human 5,10-methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase (MTHFR) regulation by phosphorylation and S-adenosylmethionine inhibition
Authors: Froese D. Sean , Kopec Jola , Rembeza Elzbieta , Bezerra Gustavo Arruda , Oberholzer Anselm Erich , Suormala Terttu , Lutz Seraina , Chalk Rod , Borkowska Oktawia , Baumgartner Matthias R. , Yue Wyatt W.
Published: February 2018

The folate and methionine cycles are crucial to the biosynthesis of lipids, nucleotides and proteins, and production of the global methyl donor S-adenosylmethionine (SAM). 5,10-methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase (MTHFR) represents a key regulatory connection between these cycles, generating 5-methyltetrahydrofolate for initiation of the methionine cycle, and undergoing allosteric inhibition by its end product SAM. Our 2.5 Å resolution crystal structure of human MTHFR reveals a unique architecture, appending the well-conserved catalytic TIM-barrel to a eukaryote-only SAM-binding domain. The latter domain of novel fold provides the predominant interface for MTHFR homo-dimerization, positioning the N-terminal serine-rich phosphorylation region into proximity with the C-terminal SAM-binding domain. This explains how MTHFR phosphorylation, identified on 11 N-terminal residues (16-total), increases sensitivity to SAM binding and inhibition. Finally, we demonstrate the 25-amino-acid inter-domain linker enables conformational plasticity and propose it to be a key mediator of SAM regulation.
Sex-biased long non-coding RNAs negatively correlated with sex-opposite protein coding gene co-expression networks in Diversity Outbred mouse liver
Authors: Melia Tisha , Waxman David J.
Published: February 2018

Sex differences in liver gene expression and disease susceptibility are regulated by pituitary growth hormone secretion patterns, which activate sex-dependent liver transcription factors and establish sex-specific chromatin states. Ablation of pituitary hormone by hypophysectomy (hypox) has identified two major classes of liver sex-biased genes, defined by their sex-dependent positive or negative responses to hypox, respectively; however, the mechanisms that determine the hypox responsiveness of each gene class are unknown. Here, we sought to discover candidate regulatory long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) that control hypox responsiveness. First, we used mouse liver RNA-seq data for 30 different biological conditions to discover gene structures and expression patterns for ~15,500 liver-expressed lncRNAs, including antisense and intragenic lncRNAs, as well as lncRNAs that overlap active enhancers, marked by enhancer RNAs. We identified >200 robust sex-specific liver lncRNAs, including 157 whose expression is regulated during postnatal liver development or is subject to circadian oscillations. Next, we utilized the high natural allelic variance of Diversity Outbred (DO) mice, a multi-parental outbred population, to discover tightly co-expressed clusters of sex-specific protein-coding genes (gene modules) in male liver, and separately, in female liver. Sex differences in the gene modules identified were extensive. Remarkably, many gene modules were strongly enriched for male-specific or female-specific genes belonging to a single hypox-response classes, indicating that the genetic heterogeneity of DO mice captures responsiveness to hypox. Hypox-responsiveness was shown to be facilitated by multiple, distinct gene regulatory mechanisms, indicating its complex nature. Further, we identified 16 sex-specific lncRNAs whose expression across DO mouse livers showed an unexpected significant negative correlation with protein-coding gene modules enriched for genes of the opposite-sex bias and inverse hypox response class, indicating strong negative regulatory potential for these lncRNAs. Thus, we used a genetically diverse outbred mouse population to discover tightly co-expressed sex-specific gene modules that reveal broad characteristics of gene regulation related to responsiveness to hypox, and generated testable hypotheses for regulatory roles of sex-biased liver lncRNAs that control the sex-bias in liver gene expression.
The Ocean Gene Atlas: exploring the biogeography of plankton genes online
Authors: Villar Emilie , Vannier Thomas , Vernette Caroline , Lescot Magali , Alexandre Aurélien , Bachelerie Paul , Rosnet Thomas , Pelletier Eric , Sunagawa Shinichi , Hingamp Pascal
Published: February 2018

The Ocean Gene Atlas is a web service to explore the biogeography of genes from marine planktonic organisms. It allows users to query protein or nucleotide sequences against global ocean reference gene catalogs. With just one click, the abundance and location of target sequences are visualized on world maps as well as their taxonomic distribution. Interactive results panels allow for adjusting cutoffs for homology and displaying the abundances of genes in the context of environmental features (temperature, nutrients, etc.) measured at the time of sampling. The ease of use enables non-bioinformaticians to explore quantitative and contextualized information on genes of interest in the global ocean ecosystem. Currently the Ocean Gene Atlas is deployed with i) the Ocean Microbial Reference Gene Catalog (OM-RGC) comprising 40 million non-redundant mostly prokaryotic gene sequences, and ii) the Marine Atlas of Tara Ocean Unigenes (MATOU) composed of >116 million eukaryote unigenes, both produced by the Tara Oceans sequencing effort. Additional datasets will be added upon availability of further marine environmental datasets that provide the required complement of sequence assemblies, raw reads and contextual environmental parameters. Ocean Gene Atlas is a freely-available web service at: http://tara-oceans.mio.osupytheas.fr/ocean-gene-atlas/.
SMuRF: a novel tool to identify genomic regions enriched for somatic point mutations
Authors: Guilhamon Paul , Lupien Mathieu
Published: February 2018

Motivation

Single Nucleotide Variants (SNVs), including somatic point mutations and Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms (SNPs), in noncoding cis-regulatory elements (CREs) can affect gene regulation and lead to disease development (Zhou et al., 2016; Zhang et al., 2014). Others have previously developed methods to identify important clusters of somatic point mutations based on proximity (Weinhold et al., 2014) or the enrichment of inherited risk-SNPs at CREs (Ahmed et al., 2017). Here, we present SMuRF (Significantly Mutated Region Finder), a user-friendly command-line tool to identify these significantly mutated regions from user-defined genomic intervals and SNVs.

Results

SMuRF identified 72 significantly mutated CREs in liver cancer, including known mutated gene promoters as well as previously unreported regions.

Availability

The source code for SMuRF is open-source and freely available on GitHub (https://github.com/LupienLabOrganization/SMuRF) under the GNU GPLv3 license. SMuRF is implemented in Bash and R; it runs on any platform with Bash (≥4.1.2), R (≥3.3.0) and BEDTools (≥2.26.0). It requires the following R packages: GenomicRanges, gtools, gplots, ggplot2, data.table, psych, and dplyr.

Supplementary Information

Supplementary information available at Bioinformatics online.

Contact

paul.guilhamon@uhnresearch.ca; mlupien@uhnres.utoronto.ca
Two novel lanthanide(III) organic frameworks based on a biphenyltetracarboxylate ligand: synthesis, structure and magnetic and luminescence properties
Authors: Hao Hongguo , Wang Yuchen , Yuan Suxian , Li Dacheng , Sun Junshan
Published: February 2018

Two new two-dimensional lanthanide coordination polymers, namely poly[[tetra-μ2-acetato-tetraaquabis(μ4-biphenyl-3,3′,5,5′-tetracarboxylato)tetrakis(dimethylacetamide)tetraterbium(III)] pentahydrate], {[Tb4(C16H6O8)2(C2H3O2)4(C4H9NO)4(H2O)4]·5H2O}n, (1), and poly[[tetra-μ2-acetato-tetraaquabis(μ5-biphenyl-3,3′,5,5′-tetracarboxylato)tetrakis(dimethylacetamide)tetraeuropium(III)] tetrahydrate], {[Eu4(C16H6O8)2(C2H3O2)4(C4H9NO)4(H2O)4]·4H2O}n, (2), have been synthesized from biphenyl-3,3′,5,5′-tetracarboxylic acid (H4bpt) and Ln(NO3)3·6H2O (Ln = Tb and Eu) under solvothermal conditions. Single-crystal X-ray structure analysis shows that the two compounds are isostructural and crystallize in the monoclinicP21/nspace group. The crystal structures are constructed from bpt4−ligands (as linkers) and {Ln2(μ2-CH3COO)2} building units (as nodes), which topological analysis shows to be a (4,6)-connected network withsqltopology. Compounds (1) and (2) have been characterized by elemental analysis, IR spectroscopy, powder X-ray diffraction (PXRD), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and fluorescence analysis in the solid state. In addition, a magnetic investigation shows the presence of antiferromagnetic interactions in compound (1).
Reassessment of paracetamol orthorhombic Form III and determination of a novel low-temperature monoclinic Form III-m from powder diffraction data
Authors: Reiss Céleste A. , Mechelen Jan B. van , Goubitz Kees , Peschar René
Published: February 2018

Paracetamol [N-(4-hydroxyphenyl)acetamide, C8H9NO2] has several polymorphs, just like many other drugs. The most stable polymorphs, denoted Forms I and II, can be obtained easily and their crystal structures are known. Crystals of the orthorhombic, less stable, room-temperature Form III are difficult to grow; they need a special recipe to crystallize and suffer from severe preferred orientation. A crystal structure model of Form III has been proposed and solved from a combination of structure prediction and powder X-ray diffraction (PXRD) [Perrinet al.(2009).Chem. Commun.22, 3181–3183]. The finalRwpvalue of 0.138 and the corresponding considerable residual trace were reasons to check its validity. A new structure determination of Form III using new high-resolution PXRD data led to a finalRwpvalue of 0.042 and an improvement of the earlier proposed model. In addition, a reversible phase transition was found at 170–220 K between the orthorhombic Form III and a novel monoclinic Form III-m. The crystal structure of Form III-m has been determined and refined from PXRD data to a finalRwpvalue of 0.059.
The effect of leadership orientation on innovation and its relationship with competitive advantages of small and medium enterprises in Indonesia
Authors: Samsir Samsir
Published: February 2018

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to investigate the influence of leadership orientation on competitive advantage with innovation as a mediating (intervening) variable.

Design/methodology/approach

Quantitative methods (Creswell, 2010) are used as the study design. It is an explanatory research with the purpose of explaining the phenomenon or pattern of correlation between concepts (Kothary, 2004). SMEs (small and medium entrepreneurs) of typical food products of Riau domiciled in Kepulauan Meranti Regency are the focus of this study; the sample size included 258 respondents.

Findings

There is a significant effect of leadership orientation on innovation. Higher leadership orientation will result in higher innovation. There is a significant effect of innovation on competitive advantage. Higher innovation will result in higher competitive advantage. Innovation as a mediation variable in the relationship between leadership orientation and competitive advantage indicates that higher leadership orientation will cause a higher competitive advantage, if the mediated innovation is also higher.

Originality/value

The originality of this research lies in innovation as a mediating (intervening) variable and a complement of a previous study by including the indicator that measures the variables of the research so that research results can be completed and detailed.
Rebalancing international investment agreements in favour of host states
Authors: Dickson Moses Oruaze
Published: February 2018

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to examine the nature of the protection afforded to foreign investors and whether this protection has been exercised to the detriment of host states. In other words, is the regulatory authority of host states being compromised by the content of the investment agreements entered into? If so, is there scope for reform? The need to reform investor-state arbitration was recently pushed forward by the European Union Commission in the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership.

Design/methodology/approach

It is conceptual.

Findings

It proposed an investment court system as a replacement for investor-state arbitration. However, there is great ambivalence on whether these reforms would result in a rebalance of investment agreements in favour of host states. Thus, this paper provides a range of solutions to the challenges posed by investor-state arbitration through proposals for a regional and world investment court.

Research limitations/implications

The findings made in this research will inform both academics and practitioners in the field of international law on whether the investment court proposal will bring about the desired changes.

Originality/value

Secondary sources
Corporate governance failures and the role of institutional investors in Pakistan
Authors: Fatima Samza , Mortimer Tom , Bilal Muhammad
Published: February 2018

Purpose

This paper aims to analyse a current theme of international interest regarding the increasing role of institutional investors in corporate governance. The role of institutional investors is getting elevated in world’s corporate market day by day due to their large shareholdings and having expertise in investment matters. However, their role and importance has not yet been accepted and explored in Pakistan. Therefore, this paper fills this gap and explores their role in Pakistan’s corporate governance by using a comparative study as to the role of institutional investors in the UK’s corporate governance. This paper identifies the failures of corporate governance in Pakistan and explores how institutional investors can help to overcome these issues.

Design/methodology/approach

This research paper uses a comparative approach based on documentary analysis. It conducts a comparative study of the role of institutional investors and the related code of corporate governance in Pakistan with that of the UK. It analyses the existing studies and the data relating to the role of institutional investors in Pakistan’s corporate governance and formulate recommendations to enhance the role of institutional investors for the betterment of corporate governance practices in Pakistan.

Findings

This paper finds that the role of institutional investors in Pakistan’s corporate governance is under-developed and the fund industry is immature. Though there is a considerable scope for them to work in Pakistan’s business market and play their role in the development of corporate governance in the listed companies of Pakistan. For this purpose, the guidance can be taken form the “Combined Code of the UK”. A number of recommendations have been formulated through which the role of institutional investors can be enhanced for the development of corporate governance practices in the business market of Pakistan.

Originality/value

This paper analyses the role of institutional investors in Pakistan to formulate recommendations through which this role may be enhanced for the development of corporate governance principles and practices in Pakistan. This paper fills a gap in the existing literature relating to the role of institutional investors in Pakistan, as there is a dearth of research in Pakistan concerning this issue. Further, it contributes to the on-going debate on the increasing role of institutional investors in corporate governance more widely.
The effects of unions on job flows
Authors: Wesselbaum Dennis
Published: February 2018

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to focus on the role of unions for job flow rates.

Design/methodology/approach

The author uses a longitudinal data set emphasizing the importance of the time dimension.

Findings

Using the fixed effects estimator, the author finds that unions decrease the job separation rate and the job finding rate.

Originality/value

The findings support that the implications of the insider-outsider model by Lindbeck and Snower (1986): unions are beneficial for insiders but harm outsiders.
Internationalization strategies of hidden champions: lessons from Germany
Authors: Audretsch David B. , Lehmann Erik E. , Schenkenhofer Julian
Published: February 2018

Purpose

In contrast to the predictions from the family business and the small- and medium-sized enterprise internationalization literatures, Hidden Champions are world-market leaders exhibiting a high share of exports. The purpose of this study is to analyze their strategy of internationalization of Hidden Champions in Germany and find that the international success and strong, sustained performance emanates from their product type, enabling to successfully pursue a niche strategy for differentiated premium products.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors first conceptually explore how Hidden Champions pursue strategic internationalization, and then analyze a sample ofN= 2,690 Hidden Champions to examine why Germany has been able to generate the highest per capita share of Hidden Champions in the world.

Findings

The study finds that on both a micro and macro level, the strong and sustained performance of Hidden Champions is driven by product type and quality strategies. Niche strategies for a knowledge-intensive, technological product enable the firm to lock-in customers. However, to safeguard the internalization of highly specific quasi-rents, Hidden Champions enter foreign markets through fully owned subsidiaries, retaining control and residual property rights. The second finding of this paper is that Germany has succeeded in deploying its high level of human capital into the Mittelstand through highly skilled workers.

Research limitations/implications

Unfortunately, no micro-level panel data are available. Still macro-level data beginning in the nineteenth century provide strong empirical support for the hypothesized causality.

Originality/value

This is the first paper to link the strong and sustained export performance of Germany to the Hidden Champions by examining the origins of the German Mittelstand model, dating back to the social, political and economic developments of nineteenth century.
Environmentally sustainable stochastic procurement model
Authors: Kaur Harpreet , Singh Surya Prakash
Published: February 2018

Purpose

Procurement planning has always been a huge and challenging activity for business firms, especially in manufacturing. With government legislations about global concern over carbon emissions, the manufacturing firms are enforced to regulate and reduce the emissions caused throughout the supply chain. It is observed that procurement and logistics activities in manufacturing firms contribute heavily toward carbon emissions. Moreover, highly dynamic and uncertain business environment with uncertainty in parameters such as demand, supplier and carrier capacity adds to the complexity in procurement planning. The paper aims to discuss these issues.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper is a novel attempt to model environmentally sustainable stochastic procurement (ESSP) problem as a mixed-integer non-linear program. The ESSP optimizes the procurement plan of the firm including lot-sizing, supplier and carrier selection by addressing uncertainty and environmental sustainability. The model applies chance-constrained-based approach to address the uncertain parameters.

Findings

The proposed ESSP model is solved optimally for 30 data sets to validate the proposed ESSP and is further demonstrated using three illustrations solved optimally in LINGO 10.

Originality/value

The ESSP model simultaneously minimizes total procurement cost and carbon emissions over the entire planning horizon considering uncertain demand, supplier and carrier capacity.
Comparison of strategic content of facilities managers functions with other building support practitioners in Lagos, Nigeria
Authors: Koleoso Hikmot Adunola , Omirin Modupe Moronke , Adejumo Femi
Published: February 2018

Purpose

The literature propounds that facilities management (FM) differs from other building support services (BSS) because it features a significant strategic content. However, research indicates that this deep seated strategic and value-adding practice is mostly unavailable except in the most matured markets. The purpose of this paper is to compare the strategic content of the functions performed by FM practitioners with that of other BSS providers in Lagos, the commercial hub of Nigeria. This is to determine if the content of the FM functions is comparatively more strategic and invariably more value-adding than that of other BSS providers as indicated in literature and also to identify required areas of improvement, both for practice and training.

Design/methodology/approach

A survey was carried out through self-administered questionnaire directed to a sample of 123 BSS providers that work with office buildings in Lagos, Nigeria. The data collected were analyzed using frequency counts, means, χ2 test and Wilcoxon signed rank test.

Findings

Rather than the strategic tasks, the FM group as with the non-FM group were more regularly involved with the less specialized facilities operations/maintenance and facilities support service tasks such as, security, fire, emergency management, cleaning and waste management. Specialized FM support service tasks such as mail services, reprographics, catering and travel services, were least often performed by both groups. The study found that facilities managers were slightly more involved than the non-facilities managers in performing the strategic group of tasks. This was indicated by the higher cumulative mean values and ranking of the level of involvement. The facilities managers also ranked higher in their involvement in the individual strategic tasks. The study also shows that FM practitioners use the more strategic ways to determine the needs of users. These findings imply that FM presents a slightly more strategic edge, which is, however, insufficient.

Practical implications

Although the FM practitioners may feature a slightly more strategic content of functions than their non-FM counterparts, the edge is insufficient to add significant value to clients’ business as postulated in literature. Lagos FM practitioners must become more involved in strategic functions in order to enhance FM’s value-adding edge and hence distinguish it better from other BSS practices.

Originality/value

The study positions the Nigerian FM practice in the light of expectations in literature and re-affirms the supposition that the practice is relatively strategically immature. It also identifies the contingent needs of local and multinational organizations that may require or intend to provide FM and other BSS in the Nigerian context, invariably allowing for international comparisons.
Indigenous reporting of a national housing corporation
Authors: Brown Alistair
Published: February 2018

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to assess the level of reporting compliance achieved by the National Housing Corporation (NHC) of Papua New Guinea in terms of local indigenous reporting expectations.

Design/methodology/approach

Testing of a framework of indigenous accountability through indigenous enactments and regulations is conducted by textual analysis, which is informed by the theory of indigenous alternatives to assess the financial reporting compliance of the NHC of Papua New Guinea’s financial statements for years ending 2004-2013.

Findings

Documentary evidence of the state auditor reports of the NHC’s financial statements reveals that the corporation’s financial reports are not submitted for audit on a timely basis and receive disclaimed audit opinions. Despite the clear indigenous reporting expectations raised by local legislative and regulatory instruments, the NHC is unable or unwilling to provide an accurate account of their activities.

Practical implications

The lack of compliant reporting suggests that the planning, management and monitoring of the housing needs of residents of Papua New Guinea are compromised. There also appears merit in asking why parliament continues to fund the corporation given its difficulties in meeting local-level reporting expectations.

Social implications

The results have wider implications for the reporting ideologies of indigenous-run housing corporations operating in other developing countries. It might be fruitful to meet local reporting expectations before taking on the specialized reporting that accompanies introduced western-oriented policies on housing.

Originality/value

Accountability in relation to indigenous property management is constructed through a lens of reporting issues facing a developing country housing corporation.
Entrepreneurship resources in US public libraries: website analysis
Authors: Faulkner Ashley E.
Published: February 2018

Purpose

This paper aims to explore the entrepreneurship resources patrons can discover and/or access on the web pages of the largest 46 US public libraries to assess the strength of public libraries’ current support to their entrepreneur-patrons, and where, and by what means, public libraries may wish to expand, or further promote, their support.

Design/methodology/approach

The author completed a website analysis of the largest 46 US public libraries, as defined by the criteria in the ALA publication The Nation’s Largest Public Libraries. Website analysis was completed via a standardized checklist assessment of each library website.

Findings

Public libraries often have print and electronic resources, meeting spaces and programming that could be of use to entrepreneur-patrons, but these resources are sometimes difficult to discover on library websites. Libraries have strong partnering relationships with other government and nonprofit organizations, but they may wish to expand these partnerships further.

Practical implications

Public libraries in the US often have multiple support services to offer entrepreneur-patrons. However, if libraries would like to reach entrepreneur-patrons beyond their walls, as well as within them, they may wish to consider further refining the resources both accessible via their website and promoted on it.

Originality/value

While there are research articles exploring how both academic and public libraries support entrepreneur-patrons, as yet, there has been no in-depth research into how public libraries support their entrepreneur-patrons through not only their in-library offerings but also the materials highlighted and/or available via their website. This research addresses this gap in the literature.
Clean up your network: how a strike changed the social networks of a working team
Authors: Thommes Kirsten , Akkerman Agnes
Published: February 2018

Purpose

This paper aims to analyse the impact of an intra-team conflict on the social relations within a team. The team conflict was triggered by a strike action which separated the team in two groups, the strikers and the worker, who continued to work. After the strike was settled, all had to work again cooperatively. This paper analyses how the strike action affects work and private social networks among workers.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors combine a qualitative ethnographic approach with quantitative network data.

Findings

The authors find that the strike action led to a separation between the former group of strikers and non-strikers. While the subgroups become more cohesive and their social network density increased, the links between both groups diminished.

Research limitations/implications

This study reveals that strikes and the accompanying separation of the workforce can improve social relations within the team, if individuals behaved alike during the conflict.

Practical implications

For managers, the results raise questions concerning typical managerial behaviour during strikes, as managers frequently trigger separation by trying to convince some individuals to continue to work. Instead, groups may even improve their performance after a strike, if they were allowed to behave alike by all joining the strike or refraining.

Originality/value

This study is the first to analyse social relations after a conflict. The authors combine qualitative and quantitative data and show the evolution of a social network after a strike. Moreover, they separate private communication flows and work-related communication and show that both networks do not necessarily evolve equally after a conflict.
Standard tables of truncated standard normal distribution using a new summarizing method
Authors: Hamasha Mohammad M. , Al-Rabayah Mohammad , Aqlan Faisal
Published: February 2018

Purpose

The single- and double-sided truncated normal distributions have been used in a wide range of engineering fields. However, most of the previous research works have focused primarily on the non-truncated population distributions. The authors present reference tables to estimate the values of density and cumulative density functions of truncated normal distribution for practitioners. Finally, the authors explain how to use the tables to estimate other properties, such as mean, median and variance. The purpose of this paper is to provide an efficient method to summarize tables, and furthermore, to provide readers with statistical tables on truncated standard normal distribution.

Design/methodology/approach

A new methodology is developed to summarize the tables with ordered values. The introduced method allows for the reduction of the number of pages required for such tables into a reasonable level by using linear interpolation. Moreover, it allows for the estimation of the required truncation values accurately with an error value less than 0.005.

Findings

The data in the tables can be summarized into a significantly reduced amount. The new summarized table can be designed for any number of pages and/or level of error wanted. However, with reducing the level of error, the number of pages increases and vice versa.

Originality/value

The value of this work is through two major points. First, all provided summarized tables in the literature are for single-sided and symmetry truncation cases. However, there is no attempt to summarize the tables of the asymmetry truncation normal distribution due to the requirement of huge number of pages. In this paper, the case of asymmetry truncation is included. Second, the methodology provided in this research can be used to summarize similar large tables.
Preventive maintenance scheduling using analysis of variance-based ant lion optimizer
Authors: Elango Umamaheswari , Sivarajan Ganesan , Manoharan Abirami , Srikrishna Subramanian
Published: February 2018

Purpose

Generator maintenance scheduling (GMS) is an essential task for electric power utilities as the periodical maintenance activity enhances the lifetime and also ensures the reliable and continuous operation of generating units. Though numerous meta-heuristic algorithms have been reported for the GMS solution, enhancing the existing techniques or developing new optimization procedure is still an interesting research task. The meta-heuristic algorithms are population based and the selection of their algorithmic parameters influences the quality of the solution. This paper aims to propose statistical tests guided meta-heuristic algorithm for solving the GMS problems.

Design/methodology/approach

The intricacy characteristics of the GMS problem in power systems necessitate an efficient and robust optimization tool. Though several meta-heuristic algorithms have been applied to solve the chosen power system operational problem, tuning of their control parameters is a protracting process. To prevail over the previously mentioned drawback, the modern meta-heuristic algorithm, namely, ant lion optimizer (ALO), is chosen as the optimization tool for solving the GMS problem.

Findings

The meta-heuristic algorithms are population based and require proper selection of algorithmic parameters. In this work, the ANOVA (analysis of variance) tool is proposed for selecting the most feasible decisive parameters in algorithm domain, and the statistical tests-based validation of solution quality is described. The parametric and non-parametric statistical tests are also performed to validate the selection of ALO against the various competing algorithms. The numerical and statistical results confirm that ALO is a promising tool for solving the GMS problems.

Originality/value

As a first attempt, ALO is applied to solve the GMS problem. Moreover, the ANOVA-based parameter selection is proposed and the statistical tests such as Wilcoxon signed rank and one-way ANOVA are conducted to validate the applicability of the intended optimization tool. The contribution of the paper can be summarized in two folds: the ANOVA-based ALO for GMS applications and statistical tests-based performance evaluation of intended algorithm.
Improved frog leap inspired protocol (IFLIP) – for routing in cognitive radio ad hoc networks (CRAHN)
Authors: J. Ramkumar , R. Vadivel
Published: February 2018

Purpose

End-to-end latency in network affects the overall performance in number of ways. It is one of the major tasks to minimize the end-to-end latency in cognitive radio ad hoc networks (CRAHN), as the transmission of packets passes through every hop of the routing path. This paper aims to propose a new reactive multicast routing protocol, namely, improved frog leap inspired protocol (IFLIP) to reduce the overall end-to-end latency in CRAHN.

Design/methodology/approach

It is difficult to solve the problems that emerge in optimization. Routing is the procedure for choosing the best network path. This paper proposes a novel algorithm by improving the FLIP to use an ideal route, which progressively reduces the congestion level on various routing path by considering the spectrum accessibility and the service rate of each hop in CRAHN.

Findings

Result of this research work concludes that IFLIP significantly outperforms other baseline schemes (namely, TIGHT and Greedy TIGHT) in minimizing the end-to-end latency in CRAHN.

Originality/value

It is proved that IFLIP gives a better ratio of packet delivery under varying primary users and secondary users. IFLIP results in increased packet deliver ratio, reduced end-to-end latency and better throughput.
Validation of the Mandarin Chinese version of the Leicester Cough Questionnaire in non‐small cell lung cancer patients after surgery
Authors: Lin Rongjia , Che Guowei
Published: February 2018

Background

There are no validated and reliable cough‐specific instruments to assess health‐related quality of life with respect to postoperative cough in non‐small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients. We used the Leicester Cough Questionnaire in Mandarin‐Chinese (LCQ‐MC) and investigated the validity, reliability, and repeatability of this instrument.

Methods

A total of 130 NSCLC patients (average age 58.75 ± 9.43 years, 65 men, 65 women) completed the LCQ‐MC, cough Visual Analogue Scale (VAS), Cough Symptom Score (CSS), Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS), and Medical Outcomes Study 36‐item Short‐Form Health Survey (SF‐36). Forty patients completed the LCQ‐MC again one week later. Concurrent validity, internal consistency, and repeatability were assessed.

Results

Analyses of concurrent validity showed significant correlations between the LCQ‐MC and the cough VAS (r = −0.488 to −0.660) and CSS (r = −0.495 to −0.601). The corresponding domains of the LCQ‐MC and the SF‐36 exhibited moderate correlations (r = 0.421–0.432). However, there was no significant correlation between the LCQ‐MC and the HADS (P > 0.05). Internal consistency was acceptable (Cronbach's α of 0.74–0.90). Test‐retest reliability was high (intraclass correlation coefficients of 0.89–0.95).

Conclusion

The LCQ‐MC is a reliable, valid instrument for assessing postoperative cough in NSCLC patients.