bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Temperature effect on lattice and electronic structures of WTe2 from first-principles study
Authors: Liu Gang , Liu Huimei , Zhou Jian , Wan Xiangang
Published: January 2017

Tungsten ditelluride (WTe2) exhibits extremely large and unsaturated magnetoresistance (MR). Due to the large spatial extensions of Te-5p and W-5d orbitals, the electronic properties of WTe2 are sensitive to the lattice structures, which can probably affect the strongly temperature dependent MR found in the experiment. Based on first-principle calculations, we investigate the temperature effect on the lattice and electronic structures of WTe2. Our numerical results show that the thermal expansion coefficients of WTe2 are highly anisotropic and considerably large. However, the temperature (less than 300 K) has an ignorable effect on the Fermi surface of WTe2. Our theoretical results clarify that the thermal expansion is not the main reason for the temperature-induced rapid decrease of magnetoresistance.
Effect of preparation conditions in sol-gel method on yellow phosphor with wide spectrum
Authors: Lin Yenchen , Inoue Shuhei , Matsumura Yukihiko , Chen Jyh-Chen
Published: January 2017

Among several methods to obtain white light in light emitting diodes (LEDs), mixing blue light with yellow light excited by blue light is the most effective and economical method. However, the quality of white light achieved by this method is poor, making it essential to develop high-quality yellow phosphors. In this study, we synthesized yellow phosphors with broad spectral width by the sol-gel method and studied the effect of various synthetic conditions on their photoluminescence spectra. Consequently, we optimized synthesis conditions for a series of yellow phosphors and found that excess europium doping caused quenching and reduced the quantum yield.
Lipid flippases promote antiviral silencing and the biogenesis of viral and host siRNAs in
Arabidopsis
Authors: Guo Zhongxin , Lu Jinfeng , Wang Xianbing , Zhan Binhui , Li Wanxiang , Ding Shou-Wei
Published: January 2017

Significance

Forward genetics as an unbiased approach for the genetic dissection of cellular pathways has not been widely used to identify host genes essential for antiviral RNAi. Here we report the identification of a phospholipid flippase as a component of antiviral RNAi from a forward genetic screen developed in
Arabidopsis thaliana
. We also describe a versatile computational pipeline capable of identifying different types of the causal mutation, including deletion, insertion, and single-nucleotide mutation, from whole-genome sequencing. We show that the identified flippase acted to enhance the amplification of viral siRNAs and the endogenous virus-activated siRNAs by host RNA-dependent RNA polymerases (RdRPs). Our findings suggest possible parallels in RNA synthesis by both the host and viral RdRPs.
‘Pre-enactment’ in team-teacher planning talk
Authors: Leyland Christopher
Published: January 2017

Recent years have seen a growing body of research concerned with objects in interaction and the numerous interactional methods and functions of creating a shared vision of some non-present scene. This multimodal Conversation Analytic study of second language interaction uncovers a combination of these two foci, showing the ways in which people use objects to create a shared vision of these objects may be used in the future. This frequently used practice of ‘pre-enactment’ is uncovered from a corpus of video recorded lesson planning discussions between English ‘native’ and ‘non-native speaker’ teachers who ‘team-teach’ together in Japanese schools. To these discussions, participants bring various objects that will be used in upcoming collaborative classes, such as clocks, word cards, and other printouts. By shifting from describing to demonstrating how such objects may be used, an authentic and pervasive image of a possible future is created. This has many functions, such as informing the current planning talk and providing a platform for other important actions to take place, such as suggesting alternatives or making requests. By examining this manipulation of objects, this study considers the ways people switch between the present and a possible future in planning talk. As such, this study adds an important layer of understanding to practices utilized in future-oriented interaction, particularly those involving people who do not share a first language.
Endangering humanity: an international crime?
Authors: McKinnon Catriona
Published: January 2017

In the Anthropocene, human beings are capable of bringing about globally catastrophic outcomes that could damage conditions for present and future human life on Earth in unprecedented ways. This paper argues that the scale and severity of these dangers justifies a new international criminal offence of ‘postericide’ that would protect present and future people against wrongfully created dangers of near extinction. Postericide is committed by intentional or reckless systematic conduct that is fit to bring about near human extinction. The paper argues that a proper understanding of the moral imperatives embodied in international criminal law shows that it ought to be expanded to incorporate a new law of postericide.
Vortex buoyancy in superfluid and superconducting neutron stars
Authors: Dommes V. A. , Gusakov M. E.
Published: January 2017

Buoyancy of proton vortices is considered as one of the important mechanisms of magnetic field expulsion from the superconducting interiors of neutron stars. Here, we show that the generally accepted expression for the buoyancy force is not correct and should be modified. The correct expression is derived for both neutron and proton vortices. It is argued that this force is already contained in the coarse-grained hydrodynamics of Bekarevich & Khalatnikov and its various multifluid extensions, but is absent in the hydrodynamics of Hall. Some potentially interesting buoyancy-related effects are briefly discussed.
Composition, Nutritional Value, Functionality, Processing, and Novel Food Uses of Pulses and Pulse Ingredients
Authors: Tyler Robert , Wang Ning , Han Jay
Published: January 2017

Pulses, the dry edible seeds of plants in the legume family, include field pea, dry bean, lentil, chickpea, and fababean. The contemporary definition of pulses excludes oilseed legumes and legumes consumed in immature form. Pulses have been nourishing people around the world for thousands of years and are well known as a rich, sustainable source of protein that is high in lysine and therefore complementary to protein from cereals. They also are good sources of energy and dietary fiber, are low in fat, and contain significant levels of vitamins, minerals, and other micronutrients and bioactives. Owing to its intermediate amylose content, starch from pulses is digested more slowly than are most cereal and tuber starches. Whole and split pulses and pulse flours also exhibit relatively high levels of type 1 resistant starch. As a result, the consumption of pulses is beneficial to the management of type 2 diabetes, metabolic syndrome, and obesity, is associated with a reduced risk of cardiovascular disease and cancer, and contributes to overall health and wellness. Pulses are used in whole or dehulled form in canned goods, sweets, soups, and pastes, whereas pulse flours are becoming common ingredients in a wide variety of food and pet food products such as baked goods, pasta and noodles, biscuits, and condiments. There is considerable interest currently in dry and wet fractionation of pulses into starch, protein, and fiber concentrates for use in both food and nonfood applications. As consumers are becoming increasingly health conscious and focused on a wellness‐oriented lifestyle, they are demanding tasty and convenient food products that are plant‐based and provide both nutritional and health benefits. In recent years, interest in the use of pulses and their ingredients in food formulation has grown tremendously owing to their nutritional and health benefits and unique functionality, a rise in the incidence of food allergies, and the availability of novel processing technologies. The United Nations declared 2016 as the International Year of Pulses, which was celebrated through the hosting of scientific and educational activities worldwide, all aimed at increasing consumer awareness of the benefits of pulse consumption and of the role of pulses in sustainable crop production systems. The ultimate goal was increased production and consumption of pulses in both developed and developing countries. This focus issue of Cereal Chemistry captures current research related to pulse composition, processing technologies, nutritional and functional attributes of pulse ingredients, impacts of processing on composition and functionality, potential health benefits, and novel food applications. It also includes review articles on composition, nutritional value and health benefits, traditional and new food uses, determination of protein nutritional quality, evaluation of cooking time, effects of processing on antinutrients, and flavor aspects of ingredients.
Isolation of Cultivation-Resistant Oomycetes, First Detected as Amplicon Sequences, from Roots of Herbicide-Terminated Winter Rye
Authors: Bakker Matthew G. , Moorman Thomas B. , Kaspar Thomas C. , Manter Daniel K.
Published: January 2017

The dynamics of microbial communities associated with dying cover crops are of interest because of potential impacts on disease in a subsequent crop, and because of the importance of microbial activity on plant residue to soil organic matter dynamics and nutrient cycling. We used high throughput amplicon sequencing to characterize the composition and structure of oomycete and fungal communities associated with a rye cover crop, and to track their community dynamics in the first several weeks after herbicide was applied to terminate the cover crop. The dominant oomycetes associated with cereal rye roots were Pythium volutum, Pythium sp. F86 (an unknown species within clade B), and Lagena radicicola. Because P. volutum is sensitive to common additives in isolation media, and L. radicicola is an obligate intracellular parasite, a unique aspect of this work is to reveal the dominance of oomycete taxa that would have been missed entirely under a traditional cultivation-based approach. Based on first detection in an amplicon sequencing survey, we were able to isolate P. volutum and Pythium sp. F86. We demonstrate that both species are pathogenic on corn, and that corn seedlings grown in the field following a rye cover crop show elevated rates of infection by P. volutum, highlighting a potential disease risk associated with cover cropping. P. volutum and Pythium sp. F86 exhibited contrasting spatial patterns of abundance, with nearly complete turnover of the dominant species across the field site. In contrast to the strong spatial structuring and low diversity of oomycete communities, fungal communities associated with a cereal rye cover crop were more diverse and dynamic, with some displacement of basidiomycetes by ascomycetes over time. Several plant pathogens, as well as putative beneficial organisms, were detected among fungal communities associated with rye roots. This work sheds light on microbial community dynamics on dying host plants, highlights the power of culture-independent microbial community assessment to yield new insights, and suggests the need for informed management to reduce seedling disease risk in corn following rye cover crops.
Objective Identification of Simulated Cochlear Implant Settings in Normal-Hearing Listeners Via Auditory Cortical Evoked Potentials
Authors: Lee Sungmin , Bidelman Gavin M.
Published: January 2017

Objectives:

Providing cochlear implant (CI) patients the optimal signal processing settings during mapping sessions is critical for facilitating their speech perception. Here, we aimed to evaluate whether auditory cortical event-related potentials (ERPs) could be used to objectively determine optimal CI parameters.

Design:

While recording neuroelectric potentials, we presented a set of acoustically vocoded consonants (aKa, aSHa, and aNa) to normal-hearing listeners (n = 12) that simulated speech tokens processed through four different combinations of CI stimulation rate and number of spectral maxima. Parameter settings were selected to feature relatively fast/slow stimulation rates and high/low number of maxima; 1800 pps/20 maxima, 1800/8, 500/20 and 500/8.

Results:

Speech identification and reaction times did not differ with changes in either the number of maxima or stimulation rate indicating ceiling behavioral performance. Similarly, we found that conventional univariate analysis (analysis of variance) of N1 and P2 amplitude/latency failed to reveal strong modulations across CI-processed speech conditions. In contrast, multivariate discriminant analysis based on a combination of neural measures was used to create “neural confusion matrices” and identified a unique parameter set (1800/8) that maximally differentiated speech tokens at the neural level. This finding was corroborated by information transfer analysis which confirmed these settings optimally transmitted information in listeners’ neural and perceptual responses.

Conclusions:

Translated to actual implant patients, our findings suggest that scalp-recorded ERPs might be useful in determining optimal signal processing settings from among a closed set of parameter options and aid in the objective fitting of CI devices.
Bilateral Sciatic Neuropathy after an Autologous Breast Reconstruction in a Massive Weight Loss Patient
Authors: Abdel-Naby Ramy , Ablavsky Michael , Shteynberg Aleksandr
Published: January 2017

Perioperative compression neuropathy is a known potential complication of prolonged surgical procedures. Sciatic postoperative neuropathy has rarely been reported. We present a 34-year-old woman who underwent right breast reconstruction with supercharged (venous anastomosis) transverse rectus abdominis flap and developed bilateral sciatic compression neuropathy. Her history was remarkable for sleeve gastrectomy 2 years earlier resulting in 105 pound weight loss 1 year before breast reconstruction. During the procedure, the patient was in the supine position for 8 hours and in the semirecumbent position for an additional 2 hours with the torso flexed at 30 degrees and knees flexed at approximately 45 degrees in addition to standard padding. Postoperatively, the patient was found to have loss of sensation and motor paralysis distal to her knees bilaterally. Pain sensation was preserved distally and no other neurological abnormalities were noted. Laboratory tests, magnetic resonance imaging, electromyography, and nerve conduction studies all revealed no evidence of neurological lesions and peroneal or lumbosacral radiculopathy. Motor strength gradually returned to her lower extremities over 4–5 weeks, whereas sensory function continued to improve over 7 weeks. The patient had complete neurological recovery 2 months postoperatively.
Deltoid Compartment Syndrome: A Rare Complication after Humeral Intraosseous Access
Authors: Thadikonda Kishan M. , Egro Francesco M. , Ma Irene , Spiess Alexander M.
Published: January 2017

We present a case of a 65-year-old woman who developed a delayed deltoid compartment syndrome after resuscitation via humeral intraosseous access. Initially she was treated conservatively but then was taken emergently for a fasciotomy. After confirming the diagnosis with compartment pressures, a 2-incision approach was employed and a large hematoma was evacuated from the inferior margin of the anterior deltoid. The rest of the deltoid was inspected and debrided to healthy bleeding tissue. Her fasciotomy wounds were left open to heal on their own due to her tenuous clinical condition. At most recent follow-up, she had full range of motion in her shoulder and no residual pain. Our unique case study is the first documented incidence of upper extremity compartment syndrome after intraosseous access. Additionally, our case supports using humeral access only as a second-line option if lower extremity access is not available and prolonged vigilant monitoring after discontinuing intraosseous access to prevent disastrous late complications.
Midface Osteotomies for Feminization of the Facial Skeleton
Authors: Lundgren T. Kalle , Farnebo Filip
Published: January 2017

Facial feminization surgery is a term to describe the surgical alteration of a masculine facial appearance to a more feminine appearance, which is most commonly performed for male-to-female transsexual individuals. To alter the midfacial relations, segmentalized osteotomies were performed in selected patients expanding on the established techniques for facial feminization surgery. All patients underwent a preoperative 3D computerized tomography scan and 3D photography before and after the surgery. The inclusion of the midface in surgery was determined based on the relative projection and angle of the zygomatic body compared with the supraorbital region (the supraorbital region was reduced in all patients). Patients were prospectively followed up by 3D surface photography and 3D computerized tomography scans. Rotation and advancement of the zygomatic region was found to be an effective way to further feminize the midfacial appearance in selected male-to-female transsexual patients. No major surgical complications occurred. Although somewhat technically challenging, we suggest that midface surgery should be considered for feminizing purposes in order for the patient to achieve a long-term favorable result compared with other alternative methods.
Transition to a New Neonatal Intensive Care Unit
Authors: van den Berg Johannes , Bäck Frida , Hed Zara , Edvardsson David
Published: January 2017

To optimize family-centered care and the staff working environment, the physical care environment should be designed to meet the needs of the infants, their families, and staff. It is important to evaluate the effects of a purpose-built neonatal ward on staff perceptions of job strain, the psychosocial climate, and the appropriateness of the physical environment. This study collected information from staff at a neonatal intensive care unit (NICU), before and after the ward was relocated to a new NICU. Effects were measured using the following variables: job strain, person-centered climate and appropriateness-of-the-physical-environment questionnaires. Data were analyzed using repeated-measures generalized estimating equations and factor analysis. After staff began to work in the new NICU, their job strain significantly increased. At the 2-year follow-up, staff stress levels had returned to preintervention levels. Participating staff perceived the purpose-built neonatal ward as being a significantly more appropriate physical environment for family-centered care of the infants and their families. The staff also perceived the psychosocial climate of the new NICU as significantly more person-centered in terms of having a more homey, comfortable, and everyday ambience and thus experienced as being more supportive. An NICU built according to recommended standards optimized the physical care environment for family-centered care and increased the staff working climate.
Designing the database for microarray experiments metadata
Authors: Lykhenko Oleksandr , Frolova Alina , Obolenska Maria
Published: January 2017

Advancements in both computer science and biotechnology opened way to unprecedented amount and variety of gene expression studies raw data in the open access. It is sometimes worth to rearrange and unite data from several similar gene expression studies into new case-control groups to test new hypothesis using available data. Unfortunately, most popular gene expression databases such as GEO and ArrayExpress were not designed to allow such cross-study procedures. In order to locate comparable samples in different studies numerous steps are required including gathering additional sample metadata and its standardization. Specialized databases are developed by investigators in their own fields of interest to reuse the processed data and create different case-control groups and test multiple hypothesis.

Here we present detailed description of the specialized database creation along with its use case which is 32 gene expression cDNA microarray datasets on human placenta under conditions of pre-eclampsia containing expression data on more than 1000 biological samples. Samples contain sufficient metadata for them to be merged into relevant cross-experiment case-control groups for further integrative analysis.
Multiplexed and multivariate representations of sound identity during perceptual constancy
Authors: Town Stephen M. , Wood Katherine C. , Bizley Jennifer K.
Published: January 2017

Perceptual constancy requires neural representations that are selective for object identity, but also tolerant for identity-preserving transformations. How such representations arise in the brain and contribute to perception remains unclear. Here we studied tolerant representations of sound identity in the auditory system by recording multi-unit activity in tonotopic auditory cortex of ferrets discriminating the identity of vowels which co-varied across orthogonal stimulus dimensions (fundamental frequency, sound level, location and voicing). We found that neural decoding of vowel identity was most successful across the same orthogonal dimensions over which animals generalized their behavior. We also decoded orthogonal sound features and behavioral variables including choice and accuracy to show a behaviorally-relevant, multivariate and multiplexed representation of sound, with each variable represented over a distinct time-course. Finally, information content and timing of sound feature encoding was modulated by task-engagement and training, suggesting that tolerant representations during perceptual constancy are attentionally and experience-dependent.
kpLogo: positionalk-mer analysis reveals hidden specificity in biological sequences
Authors: Wu Xuebing , Bartel David P.
Published: January 2017

Motifs of only 1–4 letters can play important roles when present at key locations within macromolecules. Because existing motif-discovery tools typically miss these position-specific short motifs, we developedkpLogo, a probability-based logo tool for integrated detection and visualization of position-specific ultra-short motifs.kpLogo also overcomes the limitations of conventional motif-visualization tools in handling positional interdependencies and utilizing ranked or weighted sequences increasingly available from high-throughput assays.
Estimating correlated rates of trait evolution with uncertainty
Authors: Caetano D.S. , Harmon L.J.
Published: January 2017

Correlated evolution among traits, which can happen due to genetic constraints, ontogeny, and selection, can have an important impact on the trajectory of phenotypic evolution. For example, shifts in the pattern of evolutionary integration may allow the exploration of novel regions of the morphospace by lineages. Here we use phylogenetic trees to study the pace of evolution of several traits and their pattern of evolutionary correlation across clades and over time. We use regimes mapped to the branches of the phylogeny to test for shifts in evolutionary integration. Our approach incorporates the uncertainty related to phylogeny, ancestral state estimates and parameter estimates to produce posterior distributions using Bayesian Markov chain Monte Carlo. We implemented the use of summary statistics to test for regime shifts based on a series of attributes of the model that can be directly relevant to biological hypotheses. In addition, we extend Felsenstein’s pruning algorithm to the case of multivariate Brownian motion models with multiple rate regimes. We performed extensive simulations to explore the performance of the method under a series of scenarios. Finally, we provide two test cases; the evolution of a novel buccal morphology in fishes of the family Centrarchidae and a shift in the trajectory of evolution of traits during the radiation of anole lizards to and from the Caribbean islands.
Disambiguating brain functional connectivity
Authors: Duff Eugene P. , Makin Tamar , Smith Stephen M. , Woolrich Mark W.
Published: January 2017

Functional connectivity (FC) analyses of correlations of neural activity are used extensively in neuroimaging and electrophysiology to gain insights into neural interactions. However, correlation fails to distinguish sources as different as changes in neural signal amplitudes or noise levels. This ambiguity substantially diminishes the value of FC for inferring system properties and clinical states. Network modelling approaches may avoid ambiguities, but require specific assumptions. We present an enhancement to FC analysis with improved specificity of inferences, minimal assumptions and no reduction in flexibility. The Additive Signal Change (ASC) approach characterises FC changes into certain prevalent classes involving additions of signal. With FMRI data, the approach reveals a rich diversity of signal changes underlying measured changes in FC, bringing into question standard interpretations. The ASC method can also be used to disambiguate other measures of dependency, such as regression and coherence, providing a flexible tool for the analysis of neural data.
DOCUMENTING AND EVALUATING DATA SCIENCE CONTRIBUTIONS IN ACADEMIC PROMOTION IN DEPARTMENTS OF STATISTICS AND BIOSTATISTICS
Authors: Waller Lance A.
Published: January 2017

ABSTACT

The dynamic intersection of the emerging field of Data Science with the established academic communities of Statistics and Biostatistics continues to generate lively debate, often with the two fields playing the role of an upstart (but brilliant), tech-savvy prodigy and an established (but brilliant), curmudgeonly expert, respectively. Like any new discipline, Data Science brings new perspectives and new tools to address new questions requiring new perspectives on traditionally established concepts. In this paper, we explore a specific component of this discussion, namely the documentation and evaluation of Data Science-related research, teaching, and service contributions for faculty members seeking promotion and tenure within traditional departments of statistics and Biostatistics.
Genetic contributions to trail making test performance in UK Biobank
Authors: Hagenaars Saskia P , Cox Simon R , Hill W David , Davies Gail , Liewald David CM ,   CHARGE consortium Cognitive Working Group, Harris Sarah E , McIntosh Andrew M , Gale Catharine R , Deary Ian J
Published: January 2017

The Trail Making Test is a widely used test of executive function and has been thought to be strongly associated with general cognitive function. We examined the genetic architecture of the trail making test and its shared genetic aetiology with other tests of cognitive function in 23 821 participants from UK Biobank. The SNP-based heritability estimates for trail-making measures were 7.9 % (part A), 22.4 % (part B), and 17.6 % (part B – part A). Significant genetic correlations were identified between trail-making measures and verbal-numerical reasoning (rg> 0.6), general cognitive function (rg> 0.6), processing speed (rg> 0.7), and memory (rg> 0.3). Polygenic profile analysis indicated considerable shared genetic aetiology between trail making, general cognitive function, processing speed, and memory (standardized β between 0.03 and 0.08). These results suggest that trail making is both phenotypically and genetically strongly associated with general cognitive function and processing speed.
A systematic screen for morphological abnormalities during fission yeast sexual reproduction identifies a mechanism of actin aster formation for cell fusion
Authors: Dudin Omaya , Merlini Laura , Bendezú Felipe , Groux Raphaël , Vincenzetti Vincent , Martin Sophie G
Published: January 2017

In non-motile fungi, sexual reproduction relies on stron morphogenetic changes in response to pheromone signaling. We report here on asystematic screen for morphological abnormalities o the mating process in fission yeastSchizosaccharomyces pombe. We derived a homothallic (self-fertile) collection of viable deletions which, upon visual screening, revealed a plethora of phenotype affecting all stages of the mating process, including cell polarizati cell fusion and sporulation. Cell fusion relies onthe formation of the fusion focus, an aster-like F-actin structure that is marked by stron local accumulation of the myosin V Myo52, which concentrates secretion at the fusion site. A secondaryscreen for fusion-defective mutants identified the myosin V Myo51-associated coiled-coil proteins Rng8 and Rng9 as critical forthe coalescence of the fusion focus Indeed,rng8∆andrng9∆mutant cells exhibitmultiple stable dots a the cell-cell contact site, instead of the single cusfo observed in wildtype. Rng8 and Rng9 accumulate on the fusion focus, depende on Myo51 and tropomyosin Cdc8A. tropomyosin mutant allele, whic compromises Rng8/9 localization but not actin binding, similarly lea to multiple stable dots instead of a single focus.By contrast,myo51deletion does not strongly affect fusion focus coalescenceWe. propose that focusing of the actinfilaments in the fusionaster primarily relies on Rng8/9-dependent cross-linking of tropomyosin-actin filaments.
Drivers of diversification in individual life courses
Authors: Hernández-Pacheco Raisa , Steiner Ulrich K.
Published: January 2017

Heterogeneity in life courses among individuals of a population influences the speed of adaptive evolutionary processes, but it is less clear how biotic and abiotic environmental fluctuations influence such heterogeneity. We investigate principal drivers of variability in sequence of stages during an individual’s life in a stage-structured population. We quantify heterogeneity by measuring population entropy, which computes the rate of diversification of individual life courses of a Markov chain. Using individual data of a primate population, we show that density regulates the stage composition of the population, but its entropy and the generating moments of heterogeneity are independent of density. This lack of influence of density on heterogeneity is neither due to low year-to-year variation in entropy nor due to differences in survival among stages, but due to differences in stage transitions. Our analysis thus shows that well-known classical ecological selective forces, such as density regulation, are not linked to potential selective forces governing heterogeneity through underlying stage dynamics. Despite evolution acting heavily on individual variability in fitness components, our understanding is poor whether observed heterogeneity is adaptive and how it evolves and is maintained. Our analysis illustrates how entropy represents a more integrated measure of diversity compared to the population structural composition, giving us new insights about the underlying drivers of individual heterogeneity within populations and potential evolutionary mechanisms.
Calculating the statistical significance of rare variants causal for Mendelian and complex disorders
Authors: Rao Aliz R , Nelson Stanley F
Published: January 2017

With the expanding use of next-gen sequencing (NGS) to diagnose the thousands of rare Mendelian genetic diseases, it is critical to be able to interpret individual DNA variation. We developed a general method to better interpret the likelihood that a rare variant is disease causing if observed in a given gene or genic region mapping to a described protein domain, using genome-wide information from a large control sample. We implemented these methods as a web tool and demonstrate application to 19 relevant but diverse next-gen sequencing studies. Additionally, we calculate the statistical significance of findings involving multi-family studies with rare Mendelian disease and studies of large-scale complex disorders such as autism spectrum disorder.
Supply chain integration strategies in fast evolving industries
Authors: Sabet Ehsan , Yazdani Nahid , De Leeuw Sander
Published: January 2017

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to define the “fast evolving industry” (FEI) and its supply chain management (SCM) challenges. The authors review and structure the literature regarding integration strategies and implementation methods to develop a strategic decision-making framework for SCM in the FEI.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors conduct a review of SCM literature, including supply chain strategy, supply chain integration (SCI), agile and responsive supply chain and SCM for innovative and fast-changing industries. The authors develop a conceptual model and a decision-making framework and use four mini cases to provide support for the model and framework.

Findings

The FEI, characterised by a high level of innovation and differentiation, short products/services lifecycle and high variety, is yet to be fully defined. Inherent uncertainty in FEI supply systems makes SCM in these industries a complex but strategic task for their managers. The framework and the model offered in this study, which employ a core competency concept and provide risk management strategies, offer a strategic tool for managers and scholars in the field to optimise their integration strategies and to operationalise integration decisions.

Originality/value

Little research has been published on transferable and cross-industrial SCM in FEIs. This paper defines the FEI and its resource-related concerns and then offers a conceptual model and a strategic decision-making framework for SCI in FEIs.
Benchmarking freight rates and procuring cost-attractive transportation services
Authors: Joo Seong-Jong , Min Hokey , Smith Carlo
Published: January 2017

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to help shippers determine a negotiation yardstick for transportation price and formulate wise transportation outsourcing strategies by examining the presence of freight rate differentials for shippers and identifying their main causes. This paper also develops a framework for benchmarking freight rates based on the actual data.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper proposes an additive dummy regression model to determine a statistical significance in shipping charges between different shippers. Unlike the traditional least square analysis, the proposed model is designed to avoid a biased assessment of the impact of an explanatory variable.

Findings

Through a series of empirical data analysis and hypothesis tests, the authors discovered that the fixed portion (minimum base charge) of shipping charges differed depending on the shipper’ individual contract, while the variable portion (fuel or accessorial charge) of shipping charges remained the same regardless of the shipper’s individual contract. As such, shippers who are unaware of flexible but unpredictable transportation pricing practices and unprepared for freight rate negotiation can suffer from higher shipping costs as compared to their peers. Thus, the authors conclude that the success of transportation outsourcing, carrier selection, and freight rate negotiation strategies tends to rest on the shipper’s ability to understand transportation cost structures and then determine the benchmark freight rate considered “fair” and “reasonable” for a given service.

Originality/value

This paper is one of the first to examine shipping cost differentials between different shippers and determine what causes such differentials. In doing so, this paper attempted to assess the potential impact of freight rate negotiation and carrier selection strategies on shippers’ transportation costs in current deregulatory environments where shippers were given a greater freedom to negotiate freight rates with carriers and an increased opportunity to save their transportation costs.
Power line robotic device for overhead line inspection and maintenance
Authors: Miller Rebecca , Abbasi Farshid , Mohammadpour Javad
Published: January 2017

Purpose

This paper aims to focus on the design and testing of a robotic device for power line inspection and cleaning. The focus for this design is on simplicity and compactness with a goal to create a device for linemen and other power line workers to keep in their toolbox.

Design/methodology/approach

The prototype uses V-grooved wheels to grip the line and can pass obstacles such as splices. It is equipped with a video camera to aid in line inspection and a scrub brush to clean debris from the line. The operator controls the device remotely from a laptop through a wireless connection. The novel way in which this device moves down the power line allows compactness while still being able to overcome in-line obstacles up to a certain size.

Findings

The device has been tested on a test bed in the lab. The device is able to move down a line and expand to overcome in-line obstacles as it travels. Testing proved the mechanical feasibility and revealed new requirements for a future prototype.

Practical implications

The device can be used for power line asset management by power companies; line inspection can lead to preventative repairs, leading to less downtime.

Social implications

It stands to reduce costs related to maintenance and mitigates down time and emergency repairs.

Originality/value

Innovative features include its size, mobility and control methods. Overall, the impact of this work extends to the utility maintenance sector and beyond.
Managing team coordination incentives: the effect of payoff differentials
Authors: Tavana Madjid , Di Caprio Debora , Santos-Arteaga Francisco J.
Published: January 2017

Purpose

The current paper aims to present a formal model illustrating how payoff imbalances among the members of a team of decision makers (DMs) who must undertake a project condition the final outcome obtained. This result builds on the fact that payoffs imbalances would lead to different performance levels among the employees and managers who compose a team. The analysis is applied to a strategic environment, where a project requiring coordination among the DMs within the team must be developed.

Design/methodology/approach

The intuition behind the strategic framework on which the results are based is twofold. The authors build on the literature on social comparisons and assume that employees and managers acquire information on the payoffs received by other members of the team while being affected by the resulting comparisons, and they follow the economic literature on firm boundaries determined via incomplete contracts. In this case, employees and managers may underperform if they feel aggrieved by the outcome of the contract giving place to deadweight losses when developing the project.

Findings

The authors illustrate how a team-based performance reward structure may lead to a coordinated equilibrium even when team managers and employees receive different payoffs and exhibit shading incentives based on the payoff differentials between them. The authors will also illustrate how identical shading intensities by both groups of DMs imply that shading by the managers imposes a lower cost on the profit structure of the firm because it leads to a lower decrease in the cooperation incentives of the other members of the team. Finally, the authors show how differences in shading intensity between both types of DMs trigger a strategic defect mechanism within the team that determines the outcome of the project.

Originality/value

The novel environment of team cooperation and defection through shading introduced in this paper is designed to deal with the strategic decisions taken by DMs when undertaking a project within a group. In particular, the intensity of shading applied by the DMs will be endogenously determined by the relative payoffs received, which allows to account for different scenarios, where relative payoff differentials among DMs determine the outcome of the project.
Risk marketing
Authors: Boutang Jérôme , De Lara Michel
Published: January 2017

Purpose

In a modern world increasingly perceived as uncertain, the mere purchase of a household cleaning product, or a seemingly harmless bottle of milk, conveys interrogations about potential hazards, from environmental to health impacts. The main purpose of this paper is to suggest that risk could be considered as one of the major dimensions of choice for a wide range of concerns and markets, alongside aspiration/satisfaction, and tackled efficiently by mobilizing the recent findings of cognitive sciences, neurosciences and evolutionary psychology. It is felt that consumer research could benefit more widely from psychological and evolutionary-grounded risk theories.

Design/methodology/approach

In this study, some 50 years of marketing management literature, as well as risk-specialized literature, was examined in an attempt to get a grasp of how risk is handled by consumer sciences and of whether they make some use of the most recent academic works on mental biases, non-mainstream decision-making processes or evolutionary roots of behavior. We then tested and formulated several hypotheses regarding risk profiles and preferences in the sector of insurance, by participating in an Axa Research Fund–Paris School of Economics research project.

Findings

It is suggested that consumer profiles could be enriched by risk-taking attitudes, that risk could be part of the “reason why” of brand positioning, and that brand, as well as public policy communication, could benefit from a targeted use of risk perception biases.

Originality/value

This paper proposes to apply evolutionary-based psychological concepts to build perceptual maps describing people and consumers on both aspiration and risk attitude axis, and to design communication tools according to psychological research on message framing and biases. Such an approach mobilizes not only the recent findings of cognitive sciences and neurosciences but also the understanding of the roots of risk attitudes and perception. Those maps and framing could probably be applied to many sectors, markets and public issues, from commodities to personal products and services (food, luxury goods, electronics, financial products, tourism, design or insurance).
Uncovering wicked problem’s system structure: seeing the forest for the trees
Authors: Kennedy Ann-Marie , Kapitan Sommer , Bajaj Neha , Bakonyi Angelina , Sands Sean
Published: January 2017

Purpose

This paper aims to use systems thinking, systems theory and Camillus’ framework for responding to wicked problems to provide social marketers with a theoretically based framework for approaching strategy formation for wicked problems. The paper treats fast fashion as an illustrative case and takes a step back from implementation to provide a framework for analysing and gaining understanding of wicked problem system structure for social marketers to then plan more effective interventions. The proposed approach is intended as a theory-based tool for social marketing practitioners to uncover system structure and analyse the wicked problems they face.

Design/methodology/approach

Following Layton, this work provides theoretically based guidelines for analysing the black box of how to develop and refine strategy as first proposed in Camillus’ (2008) framework for responding to wicked issues.

Findings

The prescription thus developed for approaching wicked problems’ system structure revolves around identifying the individuals, groups or entities that make up the system involved in the wicked problem, and then determining which social mechanisms most clearly drive each entity and which outcomes motivate these social mechanisms, before determining which role the entities play as either incumbent, challenger or governance and which social narratives drive each role’s participation in the wicked problem.

Originality/value

This paper shows that using systems thinking can help social marketers to gain big picture thinking and develop strategy for responding to complex issues, while considering the consequences of interventions.
Problem recognition: integrating help-seeking theory in social marketing
Authors: Sato Rachel Akiko , Drennan Judy , Lings Ian
Published: January 2017

Purpose

Online gaming is a global phenomenon that can lead to behavioural addiction and affect players’ mental and physical health. This paper aims to integrate the concepts of help-seeking and stages of change to investigate triggers for problem recognition for problematic online gaming that lead to help-seeking behaviour.

Design/methodology/approach

Critical Incident Technique method was used to collect a total of 78 critical incidents from a sample of 12 male online gamers who self-identified as having experienced problematic online gaming behaviour.

Findings

Six classifications of problem recognition triggers for young male problematic online gamers were identified: self-realisation, negative consequences, negative emotions, social influence, competing priorities and impact on social skills. Results indicate that both positive and negative triggers are important for problem recognition.

Originality/value

Valuable contributions were made to the social marketing literature by presenting an integrated model of help-seeking and stages of change theories, providing new insights into SOC and expanding the understanding of the processes involved in the transition between pre-contemplation and contemplation.
Do personalisation and emotions affect the use of cancer-related websites?
Authors: Hadžidedić Baždarević Sunčica , Cristea Alexandra Ioana
Published: January 2017

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to explore the type of personalisation services satisfying the needs of cancer websites’ target users, and the influence of their emotional states on website usage intentions.

Design/methodology/approach

Three data collection methods were employed. Survey questionnaires were distributed to online health users. Interviews with representatives of the cancer-affected population further explored emotions as stimuli for online cancer-related activities. Finally, availability of personalisation features was evaluated on existing health websites in Bosnia and Herzegovina and the UK.

Findings

A clear preference emerged for personalisation on cancer-related websites. There are specific personalisation features the cancer-affected population desires. Interestingly, certain emotions were found to stimulate visits to health websites.

Research limitations/implications

Fighting cancer implies constant support, including from cancer-related websites. It is thus vital to understand the required personalisation, stemming from target users’ actual needs, including the neglected user characteristics, as are emotions for cancer-affected people. This supports emotion-based personalisation.

Originality/value

The paper focusses on the cancer-affected population, and developing a comprehensive understanding of their personalisation needs in online health services. It further shows which emotions influence intentions to use cancer websites. The three concepts combined have not yet been studied, to the best of the authors’ knowledge.
Understanding the facilitators and inhibitors of individuals’ social network site usage
Authors: Huang Hsin-Yi , Chen Po-Lin , Kuo Yu-Chen
Published: January 2017

Purpose

Focusing on social network services (SNS), the purpose of this paper is to propose a research model to investigate individuals’ SNS usage facilitators and inhibitors from the perspective of individuals’ media system dependency (MSD) and privacy concerns.

Design/methodology/approach

The research model will be tested with data collected from online users of Facebook. The survey yielded a total of 403 responses for the data analysis which was conducted by measurement and structural models.

Findings

The findings indicate that SNSs members strive for understanding, orientation, and play dependencies which facilitate their satisfaction and social presence, and subsequently fosters their continuance intention toward the SNS. In addition, the members’ privacy concerns decrease satisfaction and social presence online.

Originality/value

First, this study has contributed to the authors’ understanding of an individual’s SNS facilitators and inhibitors from the theoretical perspective (i.e. MSD theory and privacy concerns). Second, satisfaction is a strong antecedent of continuance intention and would dilute the effect of social presence on an individual’s SNS continuance intention.