bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Pioneering print collector: Samuel Putnam Avery (1822–1904)
Authors: Zalewski Leanne M
Published: September 2018

Pioneering print collector and curator, Samuel P. Avery (1822–1904), donated a collection of 17,775 prints, including works by Cassatt, Whistler, Turner and Manet, to establish the Print Collection of the New York Public Library in 1900. Prior to his donation, Avery curated print exhibitions at the Library, Metropolitan Museum of Art, Grolier Club, and Union League Club. Through an examination of Avery’s persistent efforts to exhibit exemplary prints in museum and gallery settings – including an unusual collection of prints by women – this article provides evidence that Avery’s ground-breaking curatorial efforts led to the institutionalization of print display in New York.
Longitudinal and Reciprocal Relationships Between Psychological Well-Being and Smoking
Authors: Lappan Sara , Thorne Christopher B , Long Dustin , Hendricks Peter S
Published: September 2018

Introduction

Smoking cessation treatments currently succeed at a rate of approximately 20%–30%, underscoring the importance of exploring factors that might increase intervention effectiveness. Although negative affect has been studied extensively in relation to smoking cessation, psychological well-being (PWB; eg, life satisfaction, optimism, positive affect, purpose in life) has received little attention. This study tested longitudinal and reciprocal relationships between PWB and smoking status in older adults.

Methods

Panel data were obtained from the biennial, longitudinal Health and Retirement Study. Using structural equation modeling, we developed cross-lagged models to examine the relationships of PWB in 2006 with smoking status in 2010 and of smoking status in 2006 with PWB in 2010 while controlling for covariates (Ns = 2939–4230, 55% women, 89% white, mean age = 64 years, mean years of education = 13, 25% smokers in 2006 and 21% smokers in 2010). Separate cross-lagged models were developed for each of the PWB variables: life satisfaction, optimism, positive affect, and purpose in life.

Results

Greater life satisfaction (standardized path coefficient = −0.04), optimism (standardized path coefficient = −0.07), and positive affect (standardized path coefficient = −0.08) in 2006 predicted a reduced likelihood of smoking in 2010. Being a smoker in 2006 predicted lower life satisfaction (standardized path coefficient = −0.25), optimism (standardized path coefficient = −0.10), positive affect (standardized path coefficient = −0.10), and purpose in life (standardized path coefficient = −0.13) in 2010.

Conclusions

Findings warrant further exploration of the relationships between PWB and smoking, and support the incorporation of PWB-boosting components into existing treatments.

Implications

Given the relatively low success rate of current smoking cessation treatments, the present results suggest that increasing PWB might promote abstinence and therefore warrant consideration as a focus of future cessation treatment research. Moreover, these results suggest that smoking might inhibit PWB, illuminating a negative consequence of smoking not previously identified. Helping smokers increase their PWB may benefit them beyond promoting cessation and contribute to a flourishing society. These results warrant further investigation of PWB and smoking, and support the continued evaluation of PWB-boosting components in smoking cessation treatments.
Mitigating the Effect of Pain Severity on Activity and Disability in Patients with Chronic Pain: The Crucial Context of Acceptance
Authors: Kanzler Kathryn E , Pugh Jacqueline A , McGeary Donald D , Hale Willie J , Mathias Charles W , Kilpela Lisa S , Karns-Wright Tara E , Robinson Patricia J , Dixon Sara A , Bryan Craig J , Moring John C , McCracken Lance M
Published: September 2018

Objective

The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of pain severity on activity levels and physical disability in the context of high pain acceptance. We hypothesized that pain acceptance moderates the effect of pain severity on general activity and physical disability, such that at higher levels of acceptance, the deleterious effect of pain is mitigated.

Methods

Two hundred seven patients with chronic pain were recruited from three clinics in a large southwestern military treatment facility. Participants completed an anonymous self-report battery of standardized measures, including the Chronic Pain Acceptance Questionnaire, modified Oswestry Disability Index, and Pain Severity and General Activity subscales of the West Haven-Yale Multidimensional Pain Inventory.

Results

Chronic pain acceptance was found to significantly moderate relations between pain severity and general activity (b  =  0.0061, t(198) = 2.75, P = 0.007, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.002 to 0.011) and pain severity and disability (b  =  0.036, t(193) = –2.564, P = 0.011, 95% CI = –0.063 to –0.008). In the context of higher acceptance, the negative effect of pain on activity and disability appeared reduced. Conversely, in the context of low acceptance, the effect of pain on disability appeared accentuated at all levels of pain severity.

Conclusions

Higher acceptance mitigated both activity level and disability in a military-affiliated clinical sample of patients with chronic pain. Results further establish the role of acceptance in relation to functioning in a unique sample of people with chronic pain. These findings have implications for understanding and enhancing functioning in chronic pain populations.
Vigilance demand and the effects of stimulant drugs in a five-choice reaction-time procedure in mice
Authors: Katz Jonathan L. , Kohut Stephen J. , Soto Paul
Published: September 2018

Stimulant drugs used for treating attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) increase signal-detection accuracy in five-choice serial reaction-time procedures. These increases may result from drug-induced increases in control exerted by the stimuli that prompt responses, which was assessed in the present study. Mice were trained with food reinforcement to nose poke into one of five holes after its illumination (signal), and effects of methylphenidate, d-amphetamine, and pentobarbital were assessed. Subsequently, the time from trial onset to signal was changed from fixed to variable for one group of subjects. A ‘warning’ stimulus (change in ambient lighting) preceding the signal was added for a second group. Effects of the drugs were reassessed. Dose-related increases in accuracy of signal detection (nose pokes in hole where a signal was displayed) were obtained with methylphenidate and d-amphetamine, but not with pentobarbital. When the presignal time was variable, increases in signal detection were not obtained with either stimulant. When a warning stimulus preceded the signal, the increases in accuracy were similar to those obtained without the warning stimulus. Hence, a procedure that increased vigilance demand (using a variable prestimulus period) eliminated the effects of drugs useful in treating ADHD, whereas a procedure that decreased vigilance demand (adding the warning light) had no appreciable effects on the response to stimulant drugs. Taken together, the present results suggest that the five-choice serial reaction-time has predictive validity for selecting drugs effective for treating ADHD, although effects can depend critically on the stimulus conditions used and the vigilance required by the procedure.
Individualized Medication of Voriconazole: A Practice Guideline of the Division of Therapeutic Drug Monitoring, Chinese Pharmacological Society
Authors: Chen Ken , Zhang Xianglin , Ke Xiaoyan , Du Guanhua , Yang Kehu , Zhai Suodi ,   on behalf of the Guideline Steering Committee, the Guideline Consensus Panel, and the Guideline Development Group
Published: September 2018

Background:

Voriconazole (VRZ) is a second-generation triazole antifungal agent with broad-spectrum activity. It is available in both intravenous and oral formulations, and is primarily indicated for treating invasive aspergillosis. The most commonly used dose for adults is 4 mg/kg or 200 mg twice daily. VRZ presents nonlinear pharmacokinetics in adults, whereas drug–drug interactions and cytochrome P450 2C19 (CYP2C19) polymorphism are of great concern for VRZ. Because the liquid chromatography method has been widely used for measuring VRZ blood concentration, and target VRZ blood concentration has been recommended in some guidelines regarding efficacy and safety, therapeutic drug monitoring is considered as a useful tool for VRZ-individualized medication. Also, the CYP2C19 genotype test is available for guiding relevant drugs use in some health care facilities. Our objective was to develop an evidence-based practice guideline for VRZ-individualized medication.

Methods:

We followed the latest guideline definition from the Institute of Medicine and referred to the World Health Organization handbook for guideline development. The guideline was initially registered in the International Practice Guidelines Registry Platform (IPGRP-2015CN001). The guideline is, in principle, targeted at all Chinese health care providers. The quality of evidence and strength of the recommendations were assessed using the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation (GRADE) method.

Results:

Twenty-six recommendations were formulated regarding therapeutic drug monitoring, special groups of patients, drug safety, off-indication use, and drug–drug interactions. Of them, 12 were strong recommendations. Most quality of evidence was low, very low, or expert opinions.

Conclusions:

We developed an evidence-based practice guideline for VRZ-individualized medication, which provided comprehensive and practical recommendations for health care providers. The development of the guideline exposed several research gaps to improve VRZ use.
Functional brain activity during motor control and pain processing in chronic jaw pain
Authors: Roy Arnab , Wang Wei-en , Ho Rachel L.M. , Ribeiro-Dasilva Margarete C. , Fillingim Roger B. , Coombes Stephen A.
Published: September 2018

Changes in brain function in chronic pain have been studied using paradigms that deliver acute pain-eliciting stimuli or assess the brain at rest. Although motor disability accompanies many chronic pain conditions, few studies have directly assessed brain activity during motor function in individuals with chronic pain. Using chronic jaw pain as a model, we assessed brain activity during a precisely controlled grip force task and during a precisely controlled pain-eliciting stimulus on the forearm. We used multivariate analyses to identify regions across the brain whose activity together best separated the groups. We report 2 novel findings. First, although the parameters of grip force production were similar between the groups, the functional activity in regions including the prefrontal cortex, insula, and thalamus best separated the groups. Second, although stimulus intensity and pain perception were similar between the groups, functional activity in brain regions including the dorsal lateral prefrontal cortex, rostral ventral premotor cortex, and inferior parietal lobule best separated the groups. Our observations suggest that chronic jaw pain is associated with changes in how the brain processes motor and pain-related information even when the effector producing the force or experiencing the pain-eliciting stimulus is distant from the jaw. We also demonstrate that motor tasks and multivariate analyses offer alternative approaches for studying brain function in chronic jaw pain.
Physical Therapy Self-Management Strategies for a Patient With a Total Hip Replacement and Heart Failure
Authors: Bartlett Andrew S. , Parton Sara , Lattuca Joseph
Published: September 2018

Heart failure (HF) is the most common reason for admission to the hospital in people over the age of 65 and has been found to be a possible complication following a joint replacement. Self-management education has been shown to reduce hospital readmissions rates among patients with HF and to cause significant improvements. The purpose of this case report was to describe physical therapy (PT) self-management education in the care of a patient with both a recent hip replacement (THR) surgery and HF. Case Description: 85-year-old female with a THR and HF. Objective measurements included Timed Up and Go Test (TUG); 10-meter walk test (10MWT) and the 6-minute walk test (6MWT). Standard PT care for THR and self-management education strategies was provided. The patient was seen two times per week for nine weeks. Improvements were noted in all outcome measures: (TUG, 10MWT, 6MWT). The patient was able to meet all ambulation goals and become independent in transfers. In this case, self-management education was shown to provide positive benefits by increasing functional mobility and helping prevent further complications from HF. Self- management education in the home health setting is important for older adult patients who had a THR.
Reduced Cancer Survival Among Adults With HIV and AIDS-Defining Illnesses Despite No Difference in Cancer Stage at Diagnosis
Authors: Grover Surbhi , Desir Fidel , Jing Yuezhou , Bhatia Rohini K. , Trifiletti Daniel M. , Swisher-McClure Samuel , Kobie Julie , Moore Richard D. , Rabkin Charles S. , Silverberg Michael J. , Salters Kate , Mathews William Christopher , Gill Michael John , Thorne Jennifer E. , Castilho Jessica , Kitahata Mari M. , Justice Amy , Horberg Michael A. , Achenbach Chad J. , Mayor Angel M. , Althoff Keri N. ,   for the North American AIDS Cohort Collaboration on Research and Design
Published: September 2018

Background:

It is not known whether immune dysfunction is associated with increased risk of death after cancer diagnosis in persons with HIV (PWH). AIDS-defining illness (ADI) can signal significant immunosuppression. Our objective was to determine differences in cancer stage and mortality rates in PWH with and without history of ADI.

Methods:

PWH with anal, oropharynx, cervical, lung cancers, or Hodgkin lymphoma diagnoses from January 2000 to December 2009 in the North American AIDS Cohort Collaboration on Research and Design were included.

Results:

Among 81,865 PWH, 814 had diagnoses included in the study; 341 (39%) had a history of ADI at time of cancer diagnosis. For each cancer type, stage at diagnosis did not differ by ADI (P > 0.05). Mortality and survival estimates for cervical cancer were limited by n = 5 diagnoses. Adjusted mortality rate ratios showed a 30%–70% increase in mortality among those with ADI for all cancer diagnoses, although only lung cancer was statistically significant. Survival after lung cancer diagnosis was poorer in PWH with ADI vs. without (P = 0.0001); the probability of survival was also poorer in those with ADI at, or before other cancers although not statistically significant.

Conclusions:

PWH with a history of ADI at lung cancer diagnosis had higher mortality and poorer survival after diagnosis compared to those without. Although not statistically significant, the findings of increased mortality and decreased survival among those with ADI (vs. without) were consistent for all other cancers, suggesting the need for further investigations into the role of HIV-related immune suppression and cancer outcomes.
Triphasic Waves and Encephalopathy in the Setting of Pregabalin Toxicity
Authors: Anand Pria , Kaplan Peter Wolfe
Published: September 2018

EEG triphasic waves are usually seen in the setting of metabolic encephalopathies, but may also occur secondary to medication toxicity. There are few reports of medications causing continuous triphasic waves, and only rare reports in the literature show an association between these discharges and pregabalin toxicity. Here, we describe triphasic waves in a patient with underlying white matter lesions, as well as pregabalin toxicity, secondary to renal insufficiency. Patients with renal or hepatic failure presenting with triphasic waves and confusion pose a diagnostic challenge in determining whether the etiology of their encephalopathy is purely metabolic or whether it results from impaired medication clearance and subsequent toxicity. In this patient, discontinuing pregabalin improved her EEG despite the ongoing renal insufficiency, confirming pregabalin toxicity as an etiology of triphasic waves and encephalopathy.
Post-Hurricane Vital Statistics Expose Fragility of Puerto Rico’s Health System
Authors: Acosta Rolando J. , Irizarry Rafael A.
Published: September 2018

Importance

Hurricane Maria made landfall in Puerto Rico on September 20, 2017. As recently as May of this year (2018), the official death count was 64. After a study describing a household survey reported a much higher death count estimate, as well as evidence of population displacement, extensive loss of services, and a prolonged death rate the government released death registry data. These newly released data will permit a better understanding of the effects of this hurricane.

Objective

Provide a detailed description of the effects on mortality of Hurricane Maria and compare to other hurricanes.

Design

We fit a statistical model to mortality data that accounts for seasonal and non-hurricane related yearly effects. We then estimated the deviation from the expected death rate as a function of time.

Setting

We fit this model to 1985-2018 Puerto Rico daily data, which includes the dates of hurricanes Hugo, Georges, and Maria, 2015-2018 Florida daily data, which includes the dates of Hurricane Irma, 2002-2004 Louisiana monthly data, which includes the date of Hurricane Katrina, and 2000-2016 New Jersey monthly data, which includes the date of Hurricane Sandy.

Results

We find a prolonged increase in death rate after Maria and Katrina, lasting at least 207 and 125 days, resulting in excess deaths estimates of 3,400 (95% CI, 3,100-3,700), and 1,800 (95% CI, 1,600-2100) respectively, showing that Maria had a more long term damaging impact. Surprisingly, we also find that in 1998, Georges had a comparable impact to Katrina’s with a prolonged increase of 106 days resulting in 1,400 (95% CI, 1,200-1,700) excess deaths. For Hurricane Maria, we find sharp increases in a small number of causes of deaths, including diseases of the circulatory, endocrine and respiratory system, as well as bacterial infections and suicides.

Conclusion and Relevance

Our analysis suggests that since at least 1998, Puerto Rico’s health system has been in a precarious state. Without a substantial intervention, it appears that if hit with another strong hurricane, Puerto Ricans will suffer the unnecessary death of hundreds of its citizens.

Key Points

Question: How does the effect of Hurricane Maria on mortality in Puerto Rico compare to the effect of other hurricanes in Puerto Rico and other United States jurisdictions?

Findings: We estimate about 3,000 excess deaths after Maria, a higher toll than Katrina. Only other comparable effect was after Georges, also in Puerto Rico. For Georges and Maria, we observe a prolonged death rate increase of more than 10% lasting several months. The causes of death that increased after Maria are consistent with a collapsed health system

Meaning: Puerto Rico’s health system does not appear to be ready to withstand another strong hurricane.
Binding From both sides: TolR and full-length OmpA bind and maintain the local structure of the E. coli cell wall
Authors: Boags Alister T. , Samsudin Firdaus , Khalid Syma
Published: September 2018

We present a molecular modeling and simulation study of the of the E. coli cell envelope, with a particular focus on the role of TolR, a native protein of the E. coli inner membrane in interactions with the cell wall. TolR has been proposed to bind to peptidoglycan, but the only structure of this protein thus far is in a conformation in which the putative peptidoglycan binding domain is not accessible. We show that a model of the extended conformation of the protein in which this domain is exposed, binds peptidoglycan largely through electrostatic interactions. We show that non-covalent interactions of TolR and OmpA with the cell wall, from the inner membrane and outer membrane sides respectively, maintain the position of the cell wall even in the absence of Braun’s lipoprotein. When OmpA is truncated to remove the peptidoglycan binding domain, TolR is able to pull the cell wall down towards the inner membrane. The charged residues that mediate the cell-wall interactions of TolR in our simulations, are conserved across a number of species of Gram-negative bacteria.
Inferring high-dimensional pathways of trait acquisition in evolution and disease
Authors: Greenbury Sam F. , Barahona Mauricio , Johnston Iain G.
Published: September 2018

The explosion of data throughout the sciences provides unprecedented opportunities to learn about the dynamics of evolution and disease progression. Here, we describe a highly generalisable statistical platform to infer the dynamic pathways by which many, potentially interacting, discrete traits are acquired or lost over time in biological processes. The platform uses HyperTraPS (hypercubic transition path sampling) to learn progression pathways from cross-sectional, longitudinal, or phylogenetically-linked data with unprecedented efficiency, readily distinguishing multiple competing pathways, and identifying the most parsimonious mechanisms underlying given observations. Its Bayesian structure quantifies uncertainty in pathway structure and allows interpretable predictions of behaviours, such as which symptom a patient will acquire next. We exploit the model’s topology to provide visualisation tools for intuitive assessment of multiple, variable pathways. We apply the method to ovarian cancer progression and the evolution of multidrug resistance in tuberculosis, demonstrating its power to reveal previously undetected dynamic pathways.
MoMo: Discovery of statistically significant post-translational modification motifs
Authors: Cheng Alice , Grant Charles E. , Noble William S. , Bailey Timothy L.
Published: September 2018

Motivation

Post-translational modifications (PTMs) of proteins are associated with many significant biological functions and can be identified in high throughput using tandem mass spectrometry. Many PTMs are associated with short sequence patterns called “motifs” that help localize the modifying enzyme. Accordingly, many algorithms have been designed to identify these motifs from mass spectrometry data. Accurate statistical confidence estimates for discovered motifs are critically important for proper interpretation and in the design of downstream experimental validation.

Results

We describe a method for assigning statistical confidence estimates to PTM motifs, and we demonstrate that this method provides accurate p-values on both simulated and real data. Our methods are implemented in MoMo, a software tool for discovering motifs among sets of PTMs that we make available as a web server and as downloadable source code. MoMo reimplements the two most widely used PTM motif discovery algorithms—motif-x and MoDL—while offering many enhancements. Relative to motif-x, MoMo offers improved statistical confidence estimates and more accurate calculation of motif scores. The MoMo web server offers more proteome databases, more input formats, larger inputs and longer running times than the motif-x web server. Finally, our study demonstrates that the confidence estimates produced by motif-x are inaccurate. This inaccuracy stems in part from the common practice of drawing “background” peptides from an unshuffled proteome database. Our results thus suggest that many of the hundreds of papers that use motif-x to find motifs may be reporting results that lack statistical support.

Availability

http://meme-suite.org

Contact

timothybailey@unr.edu
Generality and opponency of rostromedial tegmental (RMTg) roles in valence processing
Authors: Li Hao , Pullmann Dominika , Cho Jennifer Y. , Eid Maya , Jhou Thomas C.
Published: September 2018

The rostromedial tegmental nucleus (RMTg), a GABAergic afferent to midbrain dopamine (DA) neurons, has been hypothesized to encode aversive stimuli. However, this encoding pattern has only been demonstrated for a limited number of stimuli, and its influence on the ventral tegmental (VTA) responses to aversive stimuli is untested. Here, we found that RMTg neurons show average inhibitions to rewarding stimuli and excitations to aversive stimuli of greatly varying sensory modalities and timescales. Notably, negative valence-encoding neurons are particularly enriched in subpopulations projecting to the VTA versus other targets. Additionally, RMTg neurons also dynamically encode “opponent” changes in motivational states induced by removal of sustained stimuli. Finally, excitotoxic RMTg lesions impair conditioned place aversion to multiple aversive stimuli, and greatly reduce aversive stimulus-induced inhibitions in VTA neurons, particularly in putative DA-like neurons. Together, our findings indicate a broad RMTg role in encoding aversion and potentially driving DA responses and behavior.
Evolutionary branching of host resistance induced by density-dependent mortality
Authors: Zu Jian , Fu Shuting , Li Miaolei , Gu Yuexi
Published: September 2018

This study explores the evolutionary dynamics of host resistance in a susceptible-infected model with density-dependent mortality. We assume that the resistant ability of susceptible host will adaptively evolve, a different type of host differs in its susceptibility to infection, but the resistance to a pathogen involves a cost such that a less susceptible host results in a lower birth rate. By using the methods of adaptive dynamics and critical function analysis, we find that the evolutionary outcome relies mainly on the trade-off relationship between host resistance and its fertility. Firstly, we show that if the trade-off curve is globally con-cave, then a continuously stable strategy is predicted. In contrast, if the trade-off curve is weakly convex in the vicinity of singular strategy, then the evolutionary branching of host resistance is possible. Moreover, the bifurcation analysis shows that independent of the trade-off curve, the values of continuously stable strategy and evolutionary branching point will always increase as the demographic parameters increase. Secondly, after evolutionary branching in the host resistance has occurred, we examine the coevolutionary dynamics of the dimorphic host population and find that for a type of concave-convex-concave trade-off curve, the final evolutionary outcome may contain a relatively higher susceptible host and a relatively higher resistant host, which can continuously stably coexist on a long-term evo-lutionary timescale. Numerical simulation further shows that eventually the equilibrium population densities of the dimorphic susceptible host might be very close to each other. Finally, we find that for a type of sigmoidal trade-off curve, due to the high cost in terms of the birth rate, always the branch with higher resistance will go extinct, the eventual evolutionary outcome includes a monomorphic host with relatively lower resistance. Particularly, in this case we find that the evolution of costly host resistance may reduce the equilibrium population density of susceptible host, instead it may increase the equilibrium population density of infected host.
Efficient curation of genebanks using next generation sequencing reveals substantial duplication of germplasm accessions
Authors: Singh Narinder , Wu Shuangye , Raupp W. John , Sehgal Sunish , Arora Sanu , Tiwari Vijay , Vikram Prashant , Singh Sukhwinder , Chhuneja Parveen , Gill Bikram S. , Poland Jesse
Published: September 2018

Genebanks are valuable resources for crop improvement through the acquisition, ex-situ conservation and sharing of unique germplasm among plant breeders and geneticists. With over seven million existing accessions and increasing storage demands and costs, genebanks need efficient characterization and curation to make them more accessible and usable and to reduce operating costs, so that the crop improvement community can most effectively leverage this vast resource of untapped novel genetic diversity. However, the sharing and inconsistent documentation of germplasm often results in unintentionally duplicated collections with poor characterization and many identical accessions that can be hard or impossible to identify without passport information and unmatched accession identifiers. Here we demonstrate the use of genotypic information from these accessions using a cost-effective next generation sequencing platform to find and remove duplications. We identify and characterize over 50% duplicated accessions both within and across genebank collections of Aegilops tauschii, an important wild relative of wheat and source of genetic diversity for wheat improvement. We present a pipeline to identify and remove identical accessions within and among genebanks and curate globally unique accessions. We also show how this approach can also be applied to future collection efforts to avoid the accumulation of identical material. When coordinated across global genebanks, this approach will ultimately allow for cost effective and efficient management of germplasm and better stewarding of these valuable resources.
Dystroglycan is a scaffold for extracellular axon guidance decisions
Authors: Lindenmaier L. Bailey , Parmentier Nicolas , Guo Caying , Tissir Fadel , Wright Kevin M
Published: September 2018

Axon guidance requires interactions between extracellular signaling molecules and transmembrane receptors, but how appropriate context-dependent decisions are coordinated outside the cell remains unclear. Here we show that the transmembrane glycoprotein Dystroglycan interacts with a changing set of environmental cues that regulate the trajectories of extending axons throughout the brain and spinal cord. Dystroglycan operates primarily as an extracellular scaffold during axon guidance, as it functions non-cell autonomously and does not require signaling through its intracellular domain. We identify the transmembrane receptor Celsr3/Adgrc3 as a binding partner for Dystroglycan, and show that this interaction is critical for specific axon guidance events in vivo. These findings establish Dystroglycan as a multifunctional scaffold that coordinates extracellular matrix proteins, secreted cues, and transmembrane receptors to regulate axon guidance.
Critical success factors in the management of ideas as an essential component of innovation and business excellence
Authors: Santos Gilberto , Afonseca José , Lopes Nuno , Félix Maria João , Murmura Federica
Published: September 2018

Purpose

This research aims to focus on the idea management system (IMS) with the main purpose of identifying and describing the factors that promote success in managing ideas, grounded on the analysis of case studies.

Design/methodology/approach

The method used consists of a case study and semi-structured interviews with those directly responsible for the management of ideas from four companies, which are presented in this paper.

Findings

The main findings, critical for the success of an IMS, are as follow: the involvement of top management, evidence of results, establishment of goals and objectives, dissemination of good results, willingness to share and develop ideas, complete transparency in the management of ideas, maintenance of dynamic and proactive attitudes and mainly recognition. All have been described.

Research limitations/implications

This work presents a preliminary framework for further research toward the study of CSFs inherent to IMSs that is still bound by the limited number of case studies presented. Further research should be undertaken to broaden and consolidate the presented CFSs and their pertinence.

Originality/value

This study, although limited to four case studies, presents conclusive results that support managers of suggestion systems/IMSs in improving or deploying such systems. The main factors were identified and described. They can contribute to the effectiveness of employee suggestion system. It can be reasoned from this investigation that the contributions from employees toward the success of a company leads to excellence in business.
The right to be included
Authors: Dali Keren
Published: September 2018

Purpose

In the spirit of the growing Time is Up movement in North America, this paper aims to focus on the human dimension of academic learning environments and delves into the reasons for the continuous oppression, discrimination and bullying (ODB) of faculty members with disabilities in academia, showing the particularly detrimental effect of ODB in the small professionally oriented field of information science.

Design/methodology/approach

The conceptualizing of continuous ODB of people with disabilities in academia is done by carefully scrutinizing the state of affairs; presenting a nuanced survey of utilized terminology; providing a new and inclusive definition of everyday oppression; introducing a new model of an oppressive workplace environment experienced by people with disabilities; showing the centrality of information behaviours and phenomena in ODB; highlighting the high relevance of this discussion to learning science; and outlining potential detrimental effects of ODB on the psychological climate in and the process of professional higher education.

Findings

The model of an oppressive workplace environment experienced by people with disabilities is presented.

Originality/value

Unlike previous models of ODB at the workplace, the current model puts information phenomena as decisive factors in continuous ODB against people with disabilities; particular attention is paid to information avoidance behaviours; distorted or delayed information messages transmitted by managers to employees; gossip as an informal information-based tactic of ODB; the insufficient protection of privacy and confidentiality of information about disabilities and personal health; and vague information messages that diminish the usefulness of university policies on disabilities.
Finding eWOM customers from customer reviews
Authors: Zhao Pengfei , Wu Ji , Hua Zhongsheng , Fang Shijian
Published: September 2018

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to identify electronic word-of-mouth (eWOM) customers from customer reviews. Thus, firms can precisely leverage eWOM customers to increase their product sales.

Design/methodology/approach

This research proposed a framework to analyze the content of consumer-generated product reviews. Specific algorithms were used to identify potential eWOM reviewers, and then an evaluation method was used to validate the relationship between product sales and the eWOM reviewers identified by the authors’ proposed method.

Findings

The results corroborate that online product reviews that are made by the eWOM customers identified by the authors’ proposed method are more related to product sales than customer reviews that are made by non-eWOM customers and that the predictive power of the reviews generated by eWOM customers are significantly higher than the reviews generated by non-eWOM customers.

Research limitations/implications

The proposed method is useful in the data set, which is based on one type of products. However, for other products, the validity must be tested. Previous eWOM customers may have no significant influence on product sales in the future. Therefore, the proposed method should be tested in the new market environment.

Practical implications

By combining the method with the previous customer segmentation method, a new framework of customer segmentation is proposed to help firms understand customers’ value specifically.

Originality/value

This study is the first to identify eWOM customers from online reviews and to evaluate the relationship between reviewers and product sales.
Procurement risk management under uncertainty: a review
Authors: Hong Zhen , Lee C.K.M. , Zhang Linda
Published: September 2018

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is twofold, first providing researchers with an overview about the uncertainties occurred in procurement including applicable approaches for analyzing different uncertain scenarios, and second proposing directions to inspire future research by identifying research gaps.

Design/methodology/approach

Papers related to supply chain risk management and procurement risk management (PRM) from 1995–2017 in several major databases are extracted by keywords and then further filtered based on the relevance to the topic, number of citations and publication year. A total of over 156 papers are selected. Definitions and current approaches related to procurement risks management are reviewed.

Findings

Five main risks in procurement process are identified. Apart from summarizing current strategies, suggestions are provided to facilitate strategy selection to handle procurement risks. Seven major future challenges and implications related PRM and different uncertainties are also indicated in this paper.

Research limitations/implications

Procurement decisions making under uncertainty has attracted considerable attention from researchers and practitioners. Despite the increasing awareness for risk management for supply chain, no detail and holistic review paper studied on procurement uncertainty. Managing procurement risk not only need to mitigate the risk of price and lead time, but also need to have sophisticated analysis techniques in supply and demand uncertainty.

Originality/value

The contribution of this review paper is to discuss the implications of the research findings and provides insight about future research. A novel research framework is introduced as reference guide for researchers to apply innovative approach of operations research to resolve the procurements uncertainty problems.
A TISM modeling of critical success factors of blockchain based cloud services
Authors: Prasad Sanjay , Shankar Ravi , Gupta Rachita , Roy Sreejit
Published: September 2018

Purpose

Over last few years, a major innovation known as blockchain technology has emerged as potentially one of the most disruptive technology of recent times. The purpose of this paper is to identify and analyze various critical success factors (CSFs) that can facilitate success of blockchain-based cloud services. Further, this paper aims to analyze and understand mutual interactions among these CSFs.

Design/methodology/approach

In this paper, 19 CSFs have been identified through literature review and expert opinions. The hierarchical framework developed using total interpretive structural modeling has revealed the inter-dependencies among these CSFs. The methodology employed in this study provides a mechanism to conduct an exploratory study by identifying the factors and analyzing their interactions through the development of a hierarchical framework. This research further categorizes CSFs into multiple clusters based on their driving power and dependence power.

Findings

This paper has identified 19 CSFs, namely, user engagement, industry collaboration, rich ecosystem, blockchain technology standardization, regulatory clarity, cost efficiency, energy efficiency (wasted resources), handling blockchain bloat, miner incentives, business case alignment to blockchain capability, sidechains development, blockchain talent pool availability, leadership readiness for a decentralized consensus based technology, technology investment and maturity, trust on blockchain networks, integration with other cloud services, robust and mature smart contracts platform, blockchain security and user control on data (privacy). Further, driver and dependent variables have been identified.

Research limitations/implications

Future research can discover and detail the sub-factors behind the 19 CSFs identified in this paper. Additionally, more work can be done to extend the current structural model for blockchain-based services to a more functional form.

Practical implications

It provides a comprehensive list of CSFs that are relevant for development of blockchain-based cloud services. This will help industry leaders to strategically focus on the main drivers that will ensure that businesses get maximum benefit of this disruptive technology.

Originality/value

This study makes a significant contribution in the literature of blockchain-based cloud services, which captures the perspective of different stakeholders. This study is one of the first (if not the first) systematic research on adoption of blockchain-based services. It creates the foundation to carry out further research in this area.
Impact of service quality on satisfaction and loyalty at manufacturer-distributor dyad
Authors: Gandhi Surjit Kumar , Sachdeva Anish , Gupta Ajay
Published: September 2018

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the role played by service quality (SQ) in manufacturer–distributor working partnerships in the context of Indian small and medium enterprises (SMEs), and present two models which propose and validate that contributions toward SQ, made by both the manufacturing unit and distribution firm lead to satisfaction which consequently results in business-to-business (B2B) loyalty.

Design/methodology/approach

The research design for this study includes a combination of literature review, exploratory interviews with a focus group and a questionnaire survey conducted through interview schedule from 101 information rich and willing respondents working in SMEs of northern India.

Findings

The paper brings out scales foe measuring organizational (internal) and distributor (external) SQ. Further, two models using structural equation modeling are developed. Model-I examines the effect of organizational SQ on distributor SQ. Model-II examines the impact of distributor SQ on satisfaction and loyalty and also tests a set of four propositions related to their working relationship. The models are empirically tested and are found to be fit.

Research limitations/implications

Future researchers may validate these scales, and empirically test the proposed models in alternate settings. Insights derived from this study may be transferred to other partnerships, which may exist in a manufacturing supply chain including suppliers, employees, retailers and end consumers.

Practical implications

This study would be of interest to SME practitioners interested in improving SQ with their distributors. The study also finds support for strengthening collaborative relationships with B2B partners to achieve a win-win situation.

Originality/value

There are very few empirical studies that measure SQ w.r.t. distribution function in SMEs and the concept is in nascent stage, especially in Indian setting.
An empirical study of the impact of lean on the performance of the construction industry in UAE
Authors: Shurrab Jaber , Hussain Matloub
Published: September 2018

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to propose a conceptual framework for the exploration of appropriate lean techniques applicable to medium and large construction companies and measure their impact on the competitiveness and economic performance of construction companies in United Arab Emirates.

Design/methodology/approach

A questionnaire survey is conducted on 215 construction professionals in UAE to investigate the lean technique’s effect on the construction companies’ performance. The data collected were analyzed with SPSS 20.0 version software using the Cronbach’s a reliability test, correlation coefficient test and Kaiser–Meyer–Olkin test.

Findings

Analysis of lean techniques in the construction industry reveals 21 lean techniques. These techniques were categorized into the six types of lean core values. Process focus was found to be the most applied type of construction core value in the surveyed companies. This is required to focus on applying other core values as it will impact the company’s economic performance positively.

Research limitations/implications

The integrity of the research findings is based on the accuracy and reliability of collected data from 215 respondents working for construction companies in UAE, implementing lean construction techniques within a their daily activates and not achieving significant project achievements in terms of quality improvement, speed and cost reduction without adopting the overall lean construction framework.

Practical implications

This research recommends a systematic approach for the implementation of the anticipated framework within a cyclical look-ahead period and emphasizes the practical implications of the proposed approach in the construction companies.

Originality/value

Research significance emphasizes increasing the effectiveness of the construction industry and influences the development of lean construction framework, which improves lean construction practices using the lean techniques. This contributes to the effort of applying lean techniques in the construction industry. Limited studies have been done in the construction industry, mainly in UAE, compared to lean manufacturing.
Innovation capability configuration and its influence on the relationship between perceived innovation requirement and organizational performance
Authors: Su Ming-Feng , Cheng Kuo-Chih , Chung Shao-Hsi , Chen Der-Fa
Published: September 2018

Purpose

When the management of an information technology (IT) manufacturing firm perceives a need for innovation due to any threat in the external environment, it will be prompted to use organizational resources to support innovation and improve organizational performance through the implementation of the innovation. The purpose of this paper is to explore whether an IT manufacturing firm’s budget slack, information quality of information system (IS), process innovation and product innovation would interact to collectively form an innovation capacity, which is termed “innovation capability configuration (ICC)”, and whether ICC mediates the relationship between perceived innovation requirement and organizational performance.

Design/methodology/approach

To answer these questions, a structural equation model was built and a questionnaire survey was conducted to collect data from research and development and production managers of IT manufacturing companies listed on the Taiwan Stock Exchange and Over-The-Counter markets.

Findings

The results showed that budget slack, IS information quality, process innovation and product innovation are all significantly related to ICC, in which high-quality information and low level of budget slack are the key factors that underpin the innovation capacity. In addition, ICC has a full mediation effect, that is, perceived innovation requirement positively influences ICC, which, in turn, improves organizational performance.

Research limitations/implications

Because all items in a questionnaire were answered by a manager, the common method variance might exist in this study. In addition, the effective recovery rate of the questionnaire was not high due to which the non-response bias might occur. Following the research limitations, several future research recommendations are proposed.

Practical implications

This study offers managerial implications for the development of an IT manufacturing firm’s innovation strategy and structure to smooth the implementation of innovation in the severe environment.

Originality/value

The study is the first attempt to integrate the four elements clearly illustrating the ICC, which is a more complete innovation strategy, thus contributing to improve the past fragmental studies and clarify some controversial points existing in the extant innovation research.