bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Sustainable people management through work-life balance: a study of the Malaysian Chinese context
Authors: Au Wee Chan , Ahmed Pervaiz K.
Published: October 2014

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to explore the harmful effects of negative externality at both national and firm level by identifying practices that impact Malaysian Chinese ' s well-being in the form of work-life imbalance.

Design/methodology/approach

– This paper adopts an emic approach using phenomenological enquiry to investigate what factors influence and shape work-life balance experience of Malaysian Chinese working adults. Emic approach, which takes into account elements that are indigenous to a particular culture, is useful to explore the uniqueness of the Malaysian context. Semi-structured interviews with six Malaysian Chinese working adults were conducted to understand their experience of work-life balance in the Malaysian Chinese context.

Findings

– The findings highlight how contextual elements in the macro-environment (such as government legislation and policy, societal values, and practices) and the firm environment (owner and leadership values, superiors’ attitude) come together to shape the overall experience of work-life balance among Chinese Malaysians. The findings show that current work-life practices in Malaysia fall short in a number of ways, which ultimately leads to an unsustainable human resource position for Malaysian firms.

Practical implications

– From a practical perspective the paper highlights the need to focus on employees’ work-life balance as a means to create sustainable and productive workplaces.

Originality/value

– Given that the concept of work-life balance is grounded in western literature, it is important to explore the nature and relevance work-life balance in sustaining human resources in nonwestern, especially less developed business settings. Findings of this study contribute to the work-life literature by exploring the work-life balance experience in Malaysia through emic approach using a phenomenological lens. The findings identify a shortfall in sustainable people management arising through the interplay of unique negative externality multi-level contextual factors.
Analog circuit optimization on basis of control theory approach
Authors: Zemliak Alexander
Published: October 2014

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to define the process of analog circuit optimization on the basis of the control theory application. This approach produces many different strategies of optimization and determines the problem of searching of the best strategy in sense of minimal computer time. The determining of the best strategy of optimization and a searching of possible structure of this strategy with a minimal computer time is a principal aim of this work.

Design/methodology/approach

– Different kinds of strategies for circuit optimization have been evaluated from the point of view of operations’ number. The generalized methodology for the optimization of analog circuit was formulated by means of the optimum control theory. The main equations for this methodology were elaborated. These equations include the special control functions that are introduced artificially. This approach generalizes the problem and generates an infinite number of different strategies of optimization. A problem of construction of the best algorithm of optimization is defined as a typical problem of the control theory. Numerical results show the possibility of application of this approach for optimization of electronic circuits and demonstrate the efficiency and perspective of the proposed methodology.

Findings

– Examples show that the better optimization strategies that are appeared in limits of developed approach have a significant time gain with respect to the traditional strategy. The time gain increases when the size and the complexity of the optimized circuit are increasing. An additional acceleration effect was used to improve the properties of presented optimization process.

Originality/value

– The obtained results show the perspectives of new approach for circuit optimization. A large set of various strategies of circuit optimization serves as a basis for searching the better strategies with a minimum computer time. The gain in processor time for the best strategy reaches till several thousands in comparison with traditional approach.
Finite element modeling and identification of metallic materials step responses
Authors: Pólik Zoltán , Kántor Zoltán
Published: October 2014

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to study the optimization of a pulsed-excitation gradiometric inductive sensing system.

Design/methodology/approach

– The authors applied numerical finite-element modeling for the simulation of the step responses of different target materials to identify the particular contribution of the magnetic permeability and the electric conductivity. Four materials of technical importance (aluminum, copper, constructional steel and stainless steel) and four fictive test materials were modeled for the comparison of different materials possessing a wide range of combinations of material parameters. A microcontroller-based measurement setup was implemented for the qualitative validation of the simulation results. A simple signal processing chain was also applied for the time-domain conversion of the direct step response signals to increase the time scale of the signals to be processed by common mixed-signal components.

Findings

– The step response signals contain relevant information of the target material quality and the sensor-to-target distance. The target materials can be distinguished and the sensor-target distance can be determined by the evaluation of the step response signals with an appropriate algorithm based on the measurement of the time and voltage of an extreme of the time dependent measurement signals. Both direct and time-domain converted signals can be used for material independent proximity sensing.

Originality/value

– In order to design an inductive proximity switch, an evaluation method of the response signals has been proposed by using an analog RLC circuit. With the presented method, a target material invariant inductive proximity switch can be realized.
Surface plasmon resonance of nanoshell particles with PMMA-graphene core
Authors: Tarparelli Richard , Iovine Renato , La Spada Luigi , Vegni Lucio
Published: October 2014

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to contribute an analytical and numerical study of a new type of nanoshell particles operating in the visible regime.

Design/methodology/approach

– The structure consists of a core/shell particle, arranged in a planar array configuration, with a polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA)-graphene core and gold thin shell.

Findings

– By exploiting the proposed analytical model the design of a metamaterial-based sensor, operating in the optical frequency range, for the detection of tissue diseases is shown.

Originality/value

– Full-wave simulations confirm the capability of the proposed sensor to identify different compounds by refractive index measurement.
Subzone scheme for RBF meshless method in solving multi-medium boundary value problems
Authors: Huaiqing Zhang , Xin Nie , Yu Chen , Zhihong Fu
Published: October 2014

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to solve the interface discontinuities in radial basis function (RBF) method for multi-medium boundary value problems (BVPs). The discontinuity of the solution derivatives is not easily handled with RBF method because of infinitely smoothness.

Design/methodology/approach

– The essence of solving BVP is to construct the continuous potential function surfaces. Hence, from constructing surface aspect, this paper proposed and compared the global and subzone schemes for RBF method. Their implementation schemes and mathematic models can then be derived. Numerical experiments and comparison are carried out for electric and magnetic field calculation.

Findings

– In the numerical experiments, the subzone scheme has shown its significant advantageous, it can approximate not only the potential function but also its derivative on interface boundary with high accuracy. So the physical characteristics of discontinuities on the interface can be revealed clearly. The overall precision is significantly improved.

Originality/value

– This paper proposed an effective subzone scheme for RBF method in multi-medium BVP. It is an improvement for RBF method based on its domain decomposition idea. And it is also a candidate for solving complex BVP.
EGLD system for noise identification in ensemble predictors
Authors: Szupiluk Ryszard , Ząbkowski Tomasz
Published: October 2014

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to propose a noise identification method for data without temporal structure, in which application of typical mathematical white or colored noise models is very limited due to observation order requirements. The method is used to identify the destructive elements and to eliminate them what finally brings prediction improvement.

Design/methodology/approach

– The paper concerns noise detection problem presented in the framework of ensemble methods via blind signals separation. The authors utilize the Extended Generalized Lambda Distribution (EGLD) model to compare the signals with the target.

Findings

– The authors proposed novel signals similarity measure which is based on the EGLD system. The authors showed that it can be applied for data with or without time structure, as well as for data which are mutually uncorrelated. It turned out that method is effective for noise identification and can be an alternative, in many cases, to correlation approach, particularly for noise identification problems.

Originality/value

– In this method the improvement of prediction results is associated with elimination of the real physical factors rather than mathematical averaging in terms of arbitrary assumed distributions. In this approach, it does not matter what is the structure of aggregated models, what significantly distinct this approach from such techniques as boosting or bagging, in which the aggregation process applies to the models of similar structure. For this reason the methodology is focussed on physical noises elimination from predictions and it is complementary to the other ensemble approaches.
Stochastic topology optimization based on level-set method
Authors: Hidaka Yuki , Sato Takahiro , Watanabe Kota , Igarashi Hajime
Published: October 2014

Purpose

– Conventional level-set method tends to fall into local optima because optimization is conducted based on gradient method. The purpose of this paper is to develop a novel topology optimization in which simulated annealing (SA) is introduced to overcome the difficulties in level-set method.

Design/methodology/approach

– Level-set based topology optimization for two-dimensional optimization problem.

Findings

– It is shown in the numerical examples, where conventional and present methods are applied to shape optimization of ferrite inductor and Interior Permanent Magnetic (IPM)-motor, the present method can find solutions with better performance than those obtained by the conventional method.

Originality/value

– SA is introduced to improve the search performances of level-set method.
Current challenges in information security risk management
Authors: Fenz Stefan , Heurix Johannes , Neubauer Thomas , Pechstein Fabian
Published: October 2014

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to give an overview of current risk management approaches and outline their commonalities and differences, evaluate current risk management approaches regarding their capability of supporting cost-efficient decisions without unnecessary security trade-offs, outline current fundamental problems in risk management based on industrial feedback and academic literature and provide potential solutions and research directions to address the identified problems. Despite decades of research, the information security risk management domain still faces numerous challenges which hinder risk managers to come up with sound risk management results.

Design/methodology/approach

– To identify the challenges in information security risk management, existing approaches are compared against each other, and as a result, an abstracted methodology is derived to align the problem and solution identification to its generic phases. The challenges have been identified based on literature surveys and industry feedback.

Findings

– As common problems at implementing information security risk management approaches, we identified the fields of asset and countermeasure inventory, asset value assignment, risk prediction, the overconfidence effect, knowledge sharing and risk vs. cost trade-offs. The reviewed risk management approaches do not explicitly provide mechanisms to support decision makers in making an appropriate risk versus cost trade-offs, but we identified academic approaches which fulfill this need.

Originality/value

– The paper provides a reference point for professionals and researchers by summing up the current challenges in the field of information security risk management. Therefore, the findings enable researchers to focus their work on the identified real-world challenges and thereby contribute to advance the information security risk management domain in a structured way. Practitioners can use the research results to identify common weaknesses and potential solutions in information security risk management programs.
Teaching information security management: reflections and experiences
Authors: Ahmad Atif , Maynard Sean
Published: October 2014

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to describe the development, design, delivery and evaluation of a postgraduate information security subject that focuses on a managerial, rather than the more frequently reported technical perspective. The authors aimed to create an atmosphere of intellectual excitement and discovery so that students felt empowered by new ideas, tools and techniques and realized the potential value of what they were learning in the industry.

Design/methodology/approach

– The paper develops fundamental principles and arguments that inform the design and development of the teaching curriculum. The curriculum is aimed at security management professionals in general and consultants in particular. The paper explains the teaching method in detail including the specific topics of lectures, representative reading material, assessment tasks and feedback mechanisms. Finally, lessons learned by the authors and their conclusions are presented as a form of reflection.

Findings

– The instructors recognized four key factors that played a role in the atmosphere of intellectual excitement and motivation. These were new concepts and ideas, an increased level of engagement, opportunities for students to make their own discoveries and knowledge presented in a practical context. Maintaining a high quality of teaching resources, catering for diverse student needs and incorporating learning cycles of assessment in a short period of time were additional challenges.

Originality/value

– Most “information security” curricula described in research literature take a technology-oriented perspective. This paper presents a much-needed management point of view. The teaching curriculum (including assessment tasks) and experiences will be useful to existing and future teaching and research academics in “information security management”. Those interested in developing their own teaching material will benefit from the discussion on potential topic areas, choice of assessment tasks and selection of recommended reading material.
Market vs. administered Federal Reserve policy rates
Authors: Walker David
Published: October 2014

Purpose

– The purpose of this study is to contrast the discount and the Fed funds rates since 1990 and the variables that influence these rates. On the basis of quarterly data, since 1990, the primary determinants of the two policy rates are: the rate of inflation, the unemployment rate and rates on US Treasury securities, i.

Design/methodology/approach

– Ordinary least squares models are developed with autocorrelation removed.

Findings

– 12 per cent level in the Fed funds market rate models. The statistical significance of the coefficient of the spread between long-term and short-term Treasury rates is a projection of a recession one year in the future. The statistical significance of the coefficients for unemployment, one and two quarter the autocorrelation coefficients, adjusted R-square values and Durbin-Watson statistics are similar for the two policy rate models.

Research limitations/implications

– The major limitation is that monthly data are not available for further tests.

Practical implications

– The two Fed policy rates respond differently to the impacts of inflation, unemployment and yield curve tilts.

Social implications

– Expected recessions, reflected by the yield curve are not often anticipated.

Originality/value

– The approach and results have a different perspective from the work in most studies involving Federal Reserve policy rates.
What threatens public libraries? The viewpoints of library directors in Sweden
Authors: Michnik Katarina
Published: October 2014

Purpose

– This article aims to identify threats perceived by Swedish public library directors as the most prominent.

Design/methodology/approach

– A web questionnaire was sent to public library directors in all of the Swedish municipalities. The data were analysed using qualitative content analysis.

Findings

– The findings reveal that the main threat was considered to be the tension between the current activities of the public library and the expectations of the public, or of local decision makers. One reason for the lack of correspondence between activities and expectations is that public library managers regard the expectations on the public library as unrealistic. Another reason is that lack of resources prevent public library staff from meeting many of these expectations. Public libraries are thus prevented by both ideological and practical barriers in fulfilling expectations.

Originality/value

– A central issue in current public library research concerns how change in Western society affects public libraries. Many of these studies are either theoretical or based on interviews with politicians. Few researchers investigate how public library directors perceive the situation of public libraries today. Therefore, this article identifies perceptions made by public library directors.
A case for open, viable print accounting
Authors: Kalochristianakis Michael
Published: October 2014

Purpose

– This paper aims to describe the design and business characteristics of the system pertaining to efficient and viable public services, the technical perspective and also usage results from the productive prototype. When the academic library of our institution turned to consider cost-effective solutions that would combine management and accounting for both printing and photocopying, it was realized that there are no open-source or enterprise platforms that can support such characteristics. Instead of relying on commercial solutions, the construction of a service was planned by means of integrating community-based projects and developing any missing components.

Design/methodology/approach

– The implementation of the system was based on the identification of appropriate open-source modules and on the development of ones that do not exist but are necessary to realize business procedures for credit reception, control and billing. Thus, the system integrates software for the management of printers and print tasks, for accounting for printing tasks, for user catalogues, for authentication modules and for the control of low level I/O operations. The aforementioned systems were integrated along with the following new modules that were developed to create a complete service.

Findings

– Our prototype has been operating at our University since May 2011. The system was installed at four sites in reading rooms of the library. Three of them are located in different departments within the University campus, while the fourth is located in the last reading room that has not yet moved within the campus. In two years, more than 28,000 pages were printed and charged. The steady rise in the number of served requests leads us to the conclusion that the system can cope with the heavy use of photocopying machines.

Originality/value

– The prototype described in this paper is a complete productive platform that is capable to accept money or credit over the counter or by using money receivers and provide billing and management for printing and photocopying. The system does not depend on any vendor technology, offers control, monitoring, receipts and reports and because it relies on open source can minimize the total costs of ownership. Scrutiny of the bibliography and market did not find any systems that could meet the aforementioned characteristics.
Changes in biophysical properties of the skin following radiotherapy for breast cancer
Authors: Hu Stephen Chu‐Sung , Hou Ming‐Feng , Luo Kuei‐Hau , Chuang Hung‐Yi , Wei Shu‐Yi , Chen Gwo‐Shing , Chiang Wenchang , Huang Chih‐Jen
Published: October 2014

Acute radiation dermatitis is a common adverse effect in patients undergoing radiotherapy for breast cancer. However, the effects of radiotherapy on biophysical properties of the skin have rarely been investigated. In this prospective cohort study, we seek to determine the effects of radiotherapy for breast cancer on skin biophysical parameters. We measured various skin biophysical parameters (skin hydration, pH, sebum level, pigmentation, and blood flow) in 144 breast cancer patients by non‐invasive techniques before and after radiotherapy. The measurements were simultaneously performed on the irradiated breast and the corresponding contralateral unirradiated breast for comparison. Following radiotherapy, the irradiated breast showed a significant decrease in skin hydration, increase in skin pH, increase in pigmentation, and increase in cutaneous blood flow. The contralateral unirradiated breast showed a slight increase in pigmentation but no significant changes in any of the other biophysical parameters after radiotherapy. No significant associations were found between patient characteristics (diabetes mellitus, hypertension, type of surgery, chemotherapy, hormone therapy) and changes in skin biophysical parameters following radiotherapy. In conclusion, radiation therapy for breast cancer induces measurable and significant changes in biophysical properties of the skin including hydration, pH, pigmentation, and blood flow. These findings give us a greater understanding of the effects of ionizing radiation on skin physiology, and provide non‐invasive and objective methods to assess radiation dermatitis.
Immunological response in Stevens–Johnson syndrome and toxic epidermal necrolysis
Authors: Abe Riichiro
Published: October 2014

Stevens–Johnson syndrome (SJS) and toxic epidermal necrolysis (TEN) are life‐threatening cutaneous adverse drug reactions that induce widespread epidermal necrosis. Recent advances in pharmacogenomic studies have provided evidence of genetic predispositions to SJS/TEN. Several concepts have been proposed to explain the pathogenesis of severe cutaneous adverse drug reactions. In the hapten concept, small molecules called haptens elicit an immune response only when attached to proteins. The “p‐i” concept postulates that the causative drugs can stimulate cells by binding directly and reversibly to immune receptors. In addition, there is the idea that drugs alter the antigen by binding to the human leukocyte antigen pocket. With regard to keratinocyte death, several cell death mediators, such as FasL, granulysin and annexin A1, have been proposed as playing a role in SJS/TEN pathogenesis. A subset of T lymphocytes, including regulatory T cells, also may play a role in SJS/TEN.
Benefits, barriers and guideline recommendations for the implementation of serious games in education for stakeholders and policymakers
Authors: Tsekleves Emmanuel , Cosmas John , Aggoun Amar
Published: October 2014

Serious games and game‐based learning have received increased attention in recent years as an adjunct to teaching and learning material. This has been well echoed in the literature with numerous articles on the use of games and game theory in education. Despite this, no policy for the incorporation of serious games in education exists to date. This review paper draws from the literature to provide guideline recommendations that would help educators and policymakers in making the first step towards this.
‘Just like the fact that I'm Syrian like you are Scottish’: Ascribing interviewer identities as a resource in cross‐cultural interaction
Authors: Widdicombe Sue
Published: October 2014

Interviews are used as a research tool in numerous studies of identity. They have also been studied as social interactions in themselves. From this perspective, analysts have looked at the ways interviews generate identities, and how both parties work to fulfill the associated roles and expectations (e.g., the interviewer's neutrality). Interviewers thus become a more 'visible' participant, and several studies examine the influence of their multiple category memberships on the interaction. This paper aims to extend these insights to the insider/outsider dilemma in interviews, by looking at how participants make relevant and use interviewer identities as a resource. The data comes from a corpus of interviews with Syrian people on identity conducted by a British interviewer. The analysis shows how the interviewer's identity as a sojourner and stranger was used to warrant positive assessments of national character; her national identity was invoked to normalize national feelings; her identity as Christian used to characterize religious identity as inherent; and her identity as Westerner was used to legitimate complaints. I discuss implications for interviews on identity and identity within interviews, and argue that this approach is a thoroughly empirical way to address the shifting, practical ascription of insider‐outsider status to the interviewer.
Fire Damage in Seasonally Flooded and Upland Forests of the Central Amazon
Authors: de Resende Angélica F. , Nelson Bruce W. , Flores Bernardo M. , de Almeida Danilo R.
Published: October 2014

Neighboring upland and nutrient‐poor seasonally flooded Amazon forests were penetrated by a fire in 2009, providing a natural comparative experiment of fire damage for these widespread forest types. In upland, only 16 ± 10% (±2 SEM) of stems and 21 ± 8% of basal area were lost to fire, while seasonally flooded forest lost 59 ± 13% of stems and 57 ± 13% of basal area. Drier understory contributes to greater flammability. Much of the area occupied by seasonally flooded woody vegetation (>11.5 percent of the Amazon region) is vulnerable to fire due to high flammability and slow recovery.
Evaluating the Qualitative Effectiveness of a Novel Pollinator: a Case Study of Two Endemic Hawaiian Plants
Authors: Aslan Austin , Hart Patrick , Wu Joanna , Aslan Clare E.
Published: October 2014

In situations where native mutualists have become extinct, non‐native species may partner with remnant native species. However, non‐native mutualists may differ behaviorally from extinct native mutualists. In the case of pollination, novel relationships between natives and non‐natives could differ both quantitatively and qualitatively from native–native relationships. In Hawai'i, the non‐native Japanese White‐eye (Zosterops japonicus) has largely replaced endemic birds as pollinator of the endemic Clermontia parviflora and C. montis‐loa. We surveyed Clermontia patches and found that they ranged from 106 to 1198 m in diameter. We performed manual pollination of flowers with pollen taken from plants at five distance categories, ranging from 0 (self‐fertilization) to 20 km, and examined the germination of resulting seeds. We used radiotelemetry to estimate daily Japanese White‐eye movement distances. Percent germination of seeds after short‐ to intermediate‐distance pollination crosses (i.e., 20–1200 m, or intra‐patch pollen transfer distances) significantly exceeded germination of seeds from selfed trials for C. parviflora. No significant differences in germination rates among treatments were detected for C. montis‐loa. The maximum daily movement distances of radio‐tracked birds were generally <1 km. Together, these results suggest that this novel pollinator may be an effective mutualist for both Clermontia species. This study serves as an example of research examining qualitative components of novel mutualism, which are generally neglected relative to quantitative components.
Microclimate and Stream Noise Predict Geographic Divergence in the Auditory Signal of a Threatened Poison Frog
Authors: Vargas‐Salinas Fernando , Dorado‐Correa Adriana , Amézquita Adolfo
Published: October 2014

According to the acoustic adaptation hypothesis, abiotic noise generated by streams should promote the evolution of high‐pitched signals in acoustically communicating animals. The putatively selective effect is best demonstrated by studying trait–environment correlations across recently or currently diverging lineages, and when we understand the ecological interactions that underlie the selective pressures. We studied microclimate, frog distribution, abiotic noise, and the frequency of the advertisement call of the Andean poison frogAndinobates bombetesacross variable environmental clines at five localities. Our general hypothesis involves three steps: microclimatic clines determine frogs’ distribution, which in turn is associated with different levels of abiotic noise that select for differentially pitched calls. Microclimate changed more abruptly with distance to streams in comparatively dry localities. There, frogs were more aggregated alongside streams and, in turn, experienced higher levels of abiotic noise. As predicted, frogs living alongside streams in dry forests called at higher frequencies, and thus attained comparable signal‐to‐noise ratios, compared with stream‐away frogs. Our data support a role for microclimate in determining frog distribution and thereby the noise conditions that promoted a divergence in a mate‐recognition signal.
Spiky follicular mycosis fungoides: a clinicopathologic study of 8 cases
Authors: Tomasini Carlo , Kempf Werner , Novelli Mauro , Fava Paolo , Annessi Giorgio , Rongioletti Franco , Fierro Maria Teresa , Quaglino Pietro
Published: October 2014

Background

The early stages of follicular mycosis fungoides (FMF) have not been described previously in the literature.

Objective

Our goal was to better categorize the clinicopathologic features of early stages of FMF.

Methods

The clinical notes of patients with a diagnosis of FMF seen during the previous 5 years were reviewed to identify any cases that at presentation had only hyperkeratotic follicular lesions.

Results

Eight patients (five male, three female) with a mean age of 55.4 years were enrolled. Noteworthy, FMF was not a clinical consideration in any of these patients initially. Patients presented with disseminated, slightly erythematous, hyperkeratotic, spiky follicular papules which, histopathologically, showed hyperkeratotic columns protruding from follicular plugging in concert with selective infiltration of the infundibular epithelium by atypical, mostly CD4+, lymphocytes. T‐cell clonality was demonstrated in four of eight cases. The mean duration of the lesions before diagnosis was 17.1 months. The course was indolent in most of the cases (median follow up: 18 months), whilst progression to overt FMF was noted in two patients.

Limitations

The number of cases is small and follow up relatively short.

Conclusions

Spiky FMF is a deceptive clinicopathologic presentation of FMF that has been poorly described and that can mimic numerous follicular disorders.
Lymphomatoid granulomatosis presenting with cutaneous involvement: a case report and review of the literature
Authors: Rysgaard Carolyn D. , Stone Mary Seabury
Published: October 2014

Lymphomatoid granulomatosis (LG) is a rare Epstein–Barr virus (EBV)‐associated B‐cell lymphoproliferative disorder presenting in middle adulthood that nearly always affects the lungs and shows cutaneous involvement in up to 50% of cases. Skin lesions are present at the time of diagnosis in roughly one‐third of patients and may precede the development of lung lesions in as many as 10–15%. Recognition by both the dermatologist and dermatopathologist is therefore crucial for early and accurate diagnosis. While skin involvement is grossly and microscopically diverse, the disease most commonly presents as erythematous subcutaneous and dermal nodules showing the classic histopathologic triad of transmural lymphocytic angiitis, atypical B‐lymphocytes in a polymorphous T‐cell background, and necrotic foci within lymphoid aggregates. We present a case of lymphomatoid granulomatosis initially presenting with cutaneous lesions, with an accompanying review of the literature.
Clinical and genetic investigation of 17 Japanese patients with hyperekplexia
Authors: Mine Jun , Taketani Takeshi , Yoshida Kazushi , Yokochi Fusako , Kobayashi Junpei , Maruyama Koichi , Nanishi Etsuro , Ono Mayumi , Yokoyama Atsushi , Arai Hidee , Tamaura Shiho , Suzuki Yasuhiro , Otsubo Shusuke , Hayashi Takashi , Kimura Masahiko , Kishi Kazuko , Yamaguchi Seiji
Published: October 2014

Aim

The aim of the study was to determine clinical and genetic characteristics of Japanese patients with hyperekplexia.

Method

Clinical courses, responses to antiepileptic drugs, outcomes, and genetic testing were investigated in 17 Japanese patients (nine males, eight females, median age 1y, range birth–45y) with hyperekplexia.

Results

In all patients, muscle stiffness and startle responses appeared soon after birth. Only seven patients were diagnosed with hyperekplexia before 1 year of age. Seven patients had been misdiagnosed with other disorders such as epilepsy and adult‐onset anxiety neurosis. Umbilical/inguinal hernias were seen in 10 patients. Life‐threatening events were noted in four patients. Clonazepam was the most effective drug. Muscle stiffness completely disappeared in 12 patients before 5 years of age, whereas startle responses resolved in only three patients. Mutations in the GLRA1 and GLRB genes were identified in 16 patients and one patient respectively. In 14 patients, the mutation showed autosomal dominant inheritance; in the other three, inheritance was autosomal recessive. p.R271Q of GLRA1 was the most frequent mutation, found in 10 patients. Novel mutations, p.A272P and p.A384P of GLRA1, were detected. Clinical severity and outcome varied even in the same family.

Interpretation

Early correct diagnosis is essential for prevention of accidental injuries and to provide appropriate treatments for hyperekplexia. Clonazepam is effective, although the time taken for startle responses to resolve varied.
From the Editors: Epilepsia's survey on the necessity of the Wada test and intracranial electrodes for cortical mapping
Authors: Mathern Gary W. , Beninsig Laurie , Nehlig Astrid
Published: October 2014

Objective

From April 4 to August 1, 2014, Epilepsia conducted an online survey seeking opinions related to the use of the Wada test and intracranial electrodes in localizing cortical functions for epilepsy surgery patients. This study reports the findings of that poll.

Methods

The survey consisted of six questions. Two questions addressed: (1) If a Wada test was always necessary for patients with temporal lobe epilepsy; and (2) if magnetoencephalography (MEG) and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) data could replace intracranial electrodes in localizing cortical motor‐sensory and language functions. Four questions addressed the type of medical personnel, geographic region of residence based on International League Against Epilepsy (ILAE) regions, if responders had read the paper, and if they were ILAE/International Bureau for Epilepsy (IBE) members.

Results

Of 115 that started the survey, 92 (80%) completed it, and most were epilepsy specialists (87%) from North America (49%) and Europe (28%). Of responders, 85% indicated that Wada tests were unnecessary for temporal lobe epilepsy surgery patients. There were differences based on residency, with 100% of those from Europe indicating that the Wada test was unnecessary compared with 75% of those from North America (p = 0.01). Of responders, 56% indicated that intracranial electrodes were necessary to localize functional cortex.

Significance

This survey found that the majority considered the Wada test unnecessary for temporal lobe epilepsy surgery patients, with more of those from Europe saying it is not needed compared with North America. In addition, just over half indicated that intracranial electrodes are still needed to localize motor‐sensory and language functions. These findings, although based on opinions, support that there are divergent views on the use of these procedures in epilepsy surgery patients that require additional study.
Outside Board Human Capital and Early Stage High–Tech Firm Performance
Authors: Vandenbroucke Elien , Knockaert Mirjam , Ucbasaran Deniz
Published: October 2014

Early stage high–tech firms are confronted with a number of challenges related to the homogeneous and technical nature of the start–up team. Attracting outside board members can alleviate these challenges and consequently enhance firm performance. Building on team production and human capital theory, we study how outside board human capital affects technological and market performance. Our results, based on a longitudinal panel data set consisting of 562 firm–year observations in 80 young high–tech ventures in Belgium, show that outside board–specific experience, diversity, and tenure are important determinants of firm performance. We discuss implications for research and practice.
Selection of Borrowing Partners in Joint Liability–Based Microcredit: Evidence from Framed Field Experiments in Bangladesh
Authors: Chakravarty Sugato , Shahriar Abu Zafar M.
Published: October 2014

We analyze partner selection decisions in the formation of borrowing groups in joint liability–based microcredit. We do so within the context of a framed field experiment with the owners of small businesses in rural Bangladesh. We find that when, irrespective of their project status, borrowers are required to make joint liability payments, risky borrowers will offer side payments that are sufficiently large to attract safe borrowers, leading to the formation of heterogeneous risk–matched groups. We discuss the implications of heterogeneous risk matching for the survival and success of small enterprises, and their financiers, in countries with a weak institutional environment.
IL6 −174G>C polymorphism is associated with an increased risk of psoriasis but not response to treatment
Authors: Białecka Monika , Ostasz Roksana , Kurzawski Mateusz , Klimowicz Adam , Fabiańczyk Honorata , Bojko Piotr , Dziedziejko Violetta , Safranow Krzysztof , Droździk Marek
Published: October 2014

Interleukin‐6 (IL‐6) is implicated in the pathogenesis of psoriasis as well as in its treatment efficacy. The aim of this study of 406 patients with psoriasis and 203 healthy controls was to evaluate the association between the IL6 −174G>C (rs1800795) polymorphism and psoriasis susceptibility, as well as treatment efficacy. The frequency of genotype GG (33.7% vs 20.7%; P = 0.00022; OR = 0.51, 95% confidence interval 0.34–0.76) and of allele G (56.2% vs 46.8%; P = 0.0023) was significantly higher in the psoriasis group compared with controls. No polymorphism variants were associated with better response to topical or combined topical/narrow‐band ultraviolet B (NB‐UVB) treatment. We conclude that the IL6 −174G>C polymorphism can be a marker of susceptibility to psoriasis, with an almost twofold increased risk of the disease in individuals carrying the GG genotype; however, it was not associated with treatment response to topical and/or NB‐UVB therapy.
Macrophyte effects on algal turbidity in subtropical versus temperate lakes: a reply to Dolman (2014)
Authors: Wang Hai‐Jun , Wang Hong‐Zhu
Published: October 2014

Dolman (2014) argued that our recent finding (Wang et al., 2014) of no marked effect of submerged macrophytes on the chlorophyll a (Chl a) to total phosphorus (TP) relationship in Yangtze subtropical lakes may not necessarily be valid due to the statistical procedure used to analyse the relationship between these two variables.

We agree with Dolman (2014) that a likelihood ratio test could provide an alternative statistical approach to analyse the effect of macrophytes on Chl a versus TP. However, we do not consider it would be appropriate to use the test on only a limited sub‐data set corresponding to where TP values overlap for the vegetated and non‐vegetated states, as suggested by Dolman (2014).

Besides testing slopes of the log10(Chl a)–log10(TP) relationship, we compared log10(Chl a)/log10(TP) values between vegetated and non‐vegetated lakes at a range of overlapping TP concentrations (Wang et al., 2014).

The conclusion drawn by Dolman (2014) from a highly cited work on subtropical lakes in Florida was shown to be invalid. Re‐analysis of these lakes demonstrated similar results to those found in Yangtze subtropical lakes. We therefore consider that our original conclusions are valid and that submersed macrophytes in subtropical lakes do not necessarily exert the same strong effects on algal turbidity as in temperate lakes.
Compartment‐specific transcriptomics in a reef‐building coral exposed to elevated temperatures
Authors: Mayfield Anderson B. , Wang Yu‐Bin , Chen Chii‐Shiarng , Lin Chung‐Yen , Chen Shu‐Hwa
Published: October 2014

Although rising ocean temperatures threaten scleractinian corals and the reefs they construct, certain reef corals can acclimate to elevated temperatures to which they are rarely exposedin situ. Specimens of the model Indo‐Pacific reef coralPocillopora damicorniscollected from upwelling reefs of Southern Taiwan were previously found to have survived a 36‐week exposure to 30°C, a temperature they encounter infrequently and one that can elicit the breakdown of the coral–dinoflagellate (genusSymbiodinium) endosymbiosis in many corals of the Pacific Ocean. To gain insight into the subcellular pathways utilized by both the coral hosts and their mutualisticSymbiodiniumpopulations to acclimate to this temperature,mRNAs from both control (27°C) and high (30°C)‐temperature samples were sequenced on an Illumina platform and assembled into a 236 435‐contig transcriptome. TheseP. damicornisspecimens were found to be ~60% anthozoan and 40% microbe (Symbiodinium, other eukaryotic microbes, and bacteria), from anmRNA‐perspective. Furthermore, a significantly higher proportion of genes from theSymbiodiniumcompartment were differentially expressed after two weeks of exposure. Specifically, at elevated temperatures,Symbiodiniumpopulations residing within the coral gastrodermal tissues were more likely to up‐regulate the expression of genes encoding proteins involved in metabolism than their coral hosts. Collectively, these transcriptome‐scale data suggest that the two members of this endosymbiosis have distinct strategies for acclimating to elevated temperatures that are expected to characterize many of Earth's coral reefs in the coming decades.
Structure and function of enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli fimbriae from differing assembly pathways
Authors: Mortezaei Narges , Epler Chelsea R. , Shao Paul P. , Shirdel Mariam , Singh Bhupender , McVeigh Annette , Uhlin Bernt Eric , Savarino Stephen J. , Andersson Magnus , Bullitt Esther
Published: October 2014

Pathogenic enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli (ETEC) are the major bacterial cause of diarrhea in young children in developing countries and in travelers, causing significant mortality in children. Adhesive fimbriae are a prime virulence factor for ETEC, initiating colonization of the small intestinal epithelium. Similar to other Gram‐negative bacteria, ETEC express one or more diverse fimbriae, some assembled by the chaperone‐usher pathway and others by the alternate chaperone pathway. Here, we elucidate structural and biophysical aspects and adaptations of each fimbrial type to its respective host niche. CS20 fimbriae are compared with colonization factor antigen I (CFA/I) fimbriae, which are two ETEC fimbriae assembled via different pathways, and with P‐fimbriae from uropathogenic E. coli. Many fimbriae unwind from their native helical filament to an extended linear conformation under force, thereby sustaining adhesion by reducing load at the point of contact between the bacterium and the target cell. CFA/I fimbriae require the least force to unwind, followed by CS20 fimbriae and then P‐fimbriae, which require the highest unwinding force. We conclude from our electron microscopy reconstructions, modeling and force spectroscopy data that the target niche plays a central role in the biophysical properties of fimbriae that are critical for bacterial pathophysiology.
House Prices, Wealth and Consumption: New Evidence from Australia and Canada
Authors: Atalay Kadir , Whelan Stephen , Yates Judith
Published: October 2014

Over the past two decades, a number of countries have experienced appreciation in house prices at the same time that aggregate consumption has increased. This paper tests alternative hypotheses for this phenomenon by using repeated household surveys from Australia and Canada to identify the transmission mechanism that links consumption and household wealth. The empirical analysis suggests that neither a direct wealth effect nor a common causal factor likely accounts for the observed correlation between wealth and consumption in these two countries. Rather, indirect factors such as collateral effects arising from relaxation of credit constraints are a more likely explanation.
A Semi‐empirical Bayesian Chart to Monitor Weibull Percentiles
Authors: Erto Pasquale , Pallotta Giuliana , Mastrangelo Christina M.
Published: October 2014

This paper develops a Bayesian control chart for the percentiles of the Weibull distribution, when both its in‐control and out‐of‐control parameters are unknown. The Bayesian approach enhances parameter estimates for small sample sizes that occur when monitoring rare events such as in high‐reliability applications. The chart monitors the parameters of the Weibull distribution directly, instead of transforming the data as most Weibull‐based charts do in order to meet normality assumption. The chart uses accumulated knowledge resulting from the likelihood of the current sample combined with the information given by both the initial prior knowledge and all the past samples. The chart is adapting because its control limits change (e.g. narrow) during Phase I. An example is presented and good average run length properties are demonstrated.
Variable selection via composite quantile regression with dependent errors
Authors: Tang Yanlin , Song Xinyuan , Zhu Zhongyi
Published: October 2014

We propose composite quantile regression for dependent data, in which the errors are from short‐range dependent and strictly stationary linear processes. Under some regularity conditions, we show that composite quantile estimator enjoys root‐nconsistency and asymptotic normality. We investigate the asymptotic relative efficiency of composite quantile estimator to both single‐level quantile regression and least‐squares regression. When the errors have finite variance, the relative efficiency of composite quantile estimator with respect to the least‐squares estimator has a universal lower bound. Under some regularity conditions, the adaptive least absolute shrinkage and selection operator penalty leads to consistent variable selection, and the asymptotic distribution of the non‐zero coefficient is the same as that of the counterparts obtained when the true model is known. We conduct a simulation study and a real data analysis to evaluate the performance of the proposed approach.