bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Competitor intelligence and analysis (CIA) model and online reviews: integrating big data text mining with network analysis for strategic analysis
Authors: Köseoglu Mehmet Ali , Mehraliyev Fuad , Altin Mehmet , Okumus Fevzi
Published: April 2020

Purpose

This study aims to propose a competitor intelligence and analysis (CIA) model that can be used for the analysis of a firm’s competitors. Empirically, it investigates the application of the CIA model on online reviews. This proposed model clarifies the confusion between terms such as competitive intelligence, competitor intelligence and competitor analysis and provides a more efficient process for managers.

Design/methodology/approach

The approach of the model integrates text mining techniques as a big data method with network analysis to form a competitor analysis. This study has considered two centrality metrics – degree centrality and betweenness centrality – to identify the functional associations among the resources elaborated by the customers of the hotels.

Findings

Findings show online reviews may be used as a solid source of intelligence. The intelligence maps visualized through the text-net technique is an efficient representation of tourist satisfaction and dissatisfaction with a tourism company and its competitors.

Practical implications

The proposed approach can be used in the hotel industry along with many others. The implications for scholars and managers and the possible directions for future research are also discussed in the study.

Originality/value

This study develops a new approach for competitive intelligence practices in the hotel industry and tests a new method for competitor analysis as a part of the competitive intelligence and analysis approach developed in this study.
Do swallows (Hirundo daurica) use the visual cue of hatchling down‐feathers to discriminate parasite alien nestlings?
Authors: WANG Jiaojiao , LI Qihong , WANG Longwu , YANG Canchao , LIANG Wei
Published: April 2020

Egg recognition is a variable but common anti‐parasitism defense among different species of birds with brood parasites. In contrast, nestling recognition is rare. Very few studies have found nestling recognition in brood parasite hosts and determined the rejection mechanism behind this behavior. Hosts may use the number of hatchling down‐feathers to reject parasite nestlings. We tested whether hatchling down‐feathers is a visual cue for the red‐rumped swallow, a host that can recognize and reject parasite nestlings. Our results indicated that red‐rumped swallows do not recognize foreign nestlings based on hatchling down‐feathers. The closed nest structure and hatchling morph may explain the absence of such a mechanism. None of the rejection mechanisms found in previous studies could explain the nestling recognition in swallows. Olfactory cues, tactile cues, or other visual cues, except for single nestling or hatchling down‐feathers, may provide nestling recognition in red‐rumped swallows. More study is needed to evaluate these possibilities.
Multipolarity and the Future of Multilateralism: Towards ‘Thick’ Peacekeeping in the Donbas Conflict
Authors: Hadano Takamitsu
Published: April 2020

This article contributes to research on the relationship between multipolarity and multilateralism. One aim of this article is to consider the role of multilateralism in the age of multipolarity by investigating Russia’s approach to multilateralism, especially in the context of the Donbas conflict. Russia has been a staunch supporter of a polycentric world order. Thus, an analysis of its attitude towards multilateralism provides insights into the role of multilateralism in the emerging multipolar world. It will be argued that, while convergence of interests and equal participation of states cannot be assumed in the age of multipolarity, multilateralism can still facilitate policy coordination among states, including rising powers, and provide legitimacy to their policy decisions. Another aim is to explore what peacekeeping – an international practice reflective of multilateralism – can deliver in the multipolarising world. This article examines recent debates over the deployment of a peacekeeping mission to eastern Ukraine and argues that peacekeeping can not only help achieve security policy coordination among states, including rising powers, but also help create a common diplomatic culture and hence a sense of we‐feeling among them, which may in turn develop into an inclusive regional security framework.
Social Media Mobility: Leveraging Twitter Networks in Online Diplomacy
Authors: Manor Ilan , Segev Elad
Published: April 2020

Recent years have seen mass adoption of social media by ministries of foreign affairs (MFAs). However, diplomats are still searching for ways to evaluate their online activity and assess the impact of online activities on offline diplomacy. This article argues that the centrality of a diplomatic institution to a Twitter network of its peer can be used to evaluate both online and offline diplomacy. Central actors on Twitter can set diplomats’ offline agenda, influence how diplomats view issues being debated in diplomatic forums, gather information relevant to the policy formulation process and become information brokers between nations. Moreover, through a two‐year analysis of the Twitter networks of MFA and UN missions we demonstrate that diplomatic institutions can perform an act of upward social media mobility by which they become more central to Twitter networks. We also show that hard power resources such as the relative wealth of nations and their population size does not guarantee online centrality. Thus, diplomatic institutions may suffer from downward social media mobility in which they become less influential online. Finally, we identify a set of digital tactics and strategies that enable MFAs and embassies to become more central to Twitter networks of their peers.
Existential Security: Towards a Security Framework for the Survival of Humanity
Authors: Sears Nathan Alexander
Published: April 2020

Humankind faces a growing spectrum of anthropogenic existential threats to human civilization and survival. This article therefore aims to develop a new framework for security policy – ‘existential security’ – that puts the survival of humanity at its core. It begins with a discussion of the definition and spectrum of ‘anthropogenic existential threats’, or those threats that have their origins in human agency and could cause, minimally, civilizational collapse, or maximally, human extinction. It argues that anthropogenic existential threats should be conceptualized as a matter of ‘security’, which follows a logic of protection from threats to the survival of some referent object. However, the existing frameworks for security policy – ‘human security’ and ‘national security’ – have serious limitations for addressing anthropogenic existential threats; application of the ‘national security’ frame could even exacerbate existential threats to humanity. Thus, the existential security frame is developed as an alternative for security policy, which takes ‘humankind’ as its referent object against anthropogenic existential threats to human civilization and survival.
Enhancing Europe’s Power: A Rejoinder
Authors: Abels Christoph M. , Anheier Helmut K. , Begg Iain , Featherstone Kevin
Published: April 2020

This rejoinder responds to the eight comments to our report on ‘Enhancing Europe’s Global Power: A Scenario Exercise with Eight Proposals’. We address questions related to our definition of Europe, the notion of power, context and appropriateness of the scenario approach, the feasibility of enhancing European power, the rationale behind the proposed eight measures as well as the way ahead. Finally, we highlight green policies together with media and communication as promising candidates to increase European power.
Diagnostic value of the combined use of radial probe endobronchial ultrasound and transbronchial biopsy in lung cancer
Authors: Lee Sang Chul , Kim Eun Young , Chang Joon , Lee Sang Hoon , Han* Chang Hoon
Published: April 2020

Background

Although the use of radial endobronchial ultrasound (R‐EBUS) with a guide sheath has shown improved diagnostic capability in peripheral pulmonary lesions, its utility is still low due to variable performance. To overcome its limitation, we evaluated the feasibility and efficacy of R‐EBUS combined with transbronchial biopsy (TBB) under fluoroscopic guidance.

Methods

We retrospectively reviewed medical records of 74 patients with non‐small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) who underwent R‐EBUS combined with TBB or TBB alone as a diagnostic technique. Subjects were grouped according to the diagnostic modality used (R‐EBUS combined with TBB vs. TBB alone). Each group was matched for age, sex, and location of the biopsy. The chi‐square test and paired t‐test were used to compare characteristics and identify factors that affected the diagnostic yield.

Results

The mean age of the study cohort was 67.4 ± 12.8 years, with 21 (56.8%) men and 16 (43.2%) women in each group. The lesion size was significantly smaller in the R‐EBUS group (23.6 vs. 33.9, P < 0.001). The diagnostic yield with the combined use of R‐EBUS and TBB (27/37, 72.9%) was significantly higher than that with standard TBB alone (22/37, 59.4%). Lung lesions with a positive bronchus sign were associated with a higher diagnostic yield (odds ratio = 3.52 [1.17–10.62]; P = 0.025).

Conclusions

The combination of R‐EBUS with TBB resulted in a higher diagnostic yield than either technique alone. Thus, the addition of R‐EBUS biopsy would be helpful to improve the diagnostic yield of TBB.

Key points

Significant findings of the study

The combination of R‐EBUS with TBB under fluoroscopic guidance improved the diagnostic yield of PPLs compared to TBB alone. A tissue diagnosis was more likely in pulmonary lesions with the air‐bronchus sign.

What this study adds

The use of R‐EBUS could help improve the low diagnostic yield of TBB under fluoroscopic guidance without increasing the incidence of complications.
AMMonitor: Remote monitoring of biodiversity in an adaptive framework with r
Authors: Balantic Cathleen , Donovan Therese
Published: April 2020

Ecological research and management programs are increasingly using autonomous monitoring units (AMUs) to collect large volumes of acoustic and/or photo data to address pressing management objectives or research goals. The data management requirements of an AMU‐based monitoring effort are often overwhelming, with a considerable amount of processing to translate raw data into models and analyses that have research and management utility.

We created the r package AMMonitor to simplify the process of moving from remotely collected data to analysis and results, using a comprehensive SQLite database for data management that tracks all components of a remote monitoring program. This framework enables the tracking of analyses and research/management objectives through time.

We illustrate the AMMonitor approach with the example of evaluating an occurrence‐based management objective for a target species. First, we provide an overview of the database and data management approach. Next, we illustrate a few available workflows: temporally adaptive sampling, automated detection of species sounds from acoustic recordings and aggregation of automated detections into an encounter history for use in an occupancy analysis, the outcome of which can be analysed with respect to the motivating management objective.

Without a comprehensive framework for efficiently moving from raw remote monitoring data collection to results and analysis, monitoring programs are limited in their capacity to systematically characterize ecological processes and inform management decisions through time. AMMonitor provides an option for such a framework. Code, comprehensive documentation and step‐by‐step examples are available online at https://code.usgs.gov/vtcfwru/AMMonitor
Shorter life and reduced fecundity can increase colony fitness in virtual Caenorhabditis elegans
Authors: Galimov Evgeniy R. , Gems David
Published: April 2020

In the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans, loss of function of many genes leads to increases in lifespan, sometimes of a very large magnitude. Could this reflect the occurrence of programmed death that, like apoptosis of cells, promotes fitness? The notion that programmed death evolves as a mechanism to remove worn out, old individuals in order to increase food availability for kin is not supported by classic evolutionary theory for most species. However, it may apply in organisms with colonies of closely related individuals such as C. elegans in which largely clonal populations subsist on spatially limited food patches. Here, we ask whether food competition between nonreproductive adults and their clonal progeny could favor programmed death by using an in silico model of C. elegans. Colony fitness was estimated as yield of dauer larva propagules from a limited food patch. Simulations showed that not only shorter lifespan but also shorter reproductive span and reduced adult feeding rate can increase colony fitness, potentially by reducing futile food consumption. Early adult death was particularly beneficial when adult food consumption rate was high. These results imply that programmed, adaptive death could promote colony fitness in C. elegans through a consumer sacrifice mechanism. Thus, C. elegans lifespan may be limited not by aging in the usual sense but rather by apoptosis‐like programmed death.
Combining camera‐trap surveys and hunter interviews to determine the status of mammals in protected rainforests and rubber plantations of Menglun, Xishuangbanna, SW China
Authors: Huang G. , Sreekar R. , Velho N. , Corlett R. T. , Quan R.‐C. , Tomlinson K. W.
Published: April 2020

Hunting and deforestation are the two biggest threats to vertebrates in Southeast Asia. In the last 50 years, monoculture rubber plantations replaced large areas of tropical rainforests in Xishuangbanna, southwest China. We set up camera traps at 109 stations (57 in forest reserves and 52 in rubber plantations) to determine the distribution of mammal species in Menglun, Xishuangbanna. We also interviewed 37 experienced hunters (mean age: 54) in the study area to understand their perceptions of species abundance trends. We used hierarchical multispecies occupancy modelling to determine the effect of distance to village, distance to forest edge and elevation on mammal occupancy after accounting for imperfect detection. We used non‐parametric tests for the rank data to evaluate perceived species trends. Using a combination of historical literature (1954–1985), hunter interviews, direct observations and camera‐trap surveys, we only recorded 56% (15 out of 27) of the medium‐to‐large sized (>1 kg) mammal species known previously from the study region. Interviews suggested that current population densities of all extant mammal species are below historical levels. Our camera traps captured 11 mammal species in the forest reserve and only two species in rubber plantations. Low capture rates (10 captures) in rubber mean we could only determine mammal occupancy in forests. Environmental variables did not affect community level mammal occupancy in forests, but common muntjac (Muntiacus muntjak) and the northern pig‐tailed macaque (Macaca leonina) avoided forest edges. At the time of the survey, hunting was still prevalent in the region. Therefore, conservation interventions that end both hunting and deforestation are urgently needed to stabilize and increase mammal populations in the region.
Comparative study of the distribution of NOS‐positive neurons in pigeon intestine
Authors: Sun Haiji , Gao Wenting , Li Huimin , Ma Xiaoli
Published: April 2020

Nitric oxide (NO) plays an important role in regulating gut motility, mucosal barrier function and secretions in the enteric nervous system. Nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate diaphorase (NADPH‐d) staining has been used to identify nitrergic neurons of the enteric nervous system in different species. However, NADPH‐d staining lacks specificity because it also reflects the presence of enzymes other than nitric oxide synthase (NOS). Therefore, NOS immunohistochemistry techniques are needed to test for nitrergic neurons in the avian gut. In the present work, the morphology, density and size of NOS‐positive neurons in the duodenum, jejunum, ileum, caecum and rectum myenteric plexus of adult pigeons were investigated using NOS immunohistochemistry and whole‐mount preparations techniques. The density of NOS‐positive ganglion was highest in the ileum, similar to the caecum and rectum, and the lowest staining levels were observed in the duodenum. The staining intensity of NOS‐positive neurons in the duodenum, jejunum and ileum was dark, followed by the rectal regions, with weak staining in the caecum. These results suggested that NOS immunohistochemistry and whole‐mount preparation techniques provide an effective assessment method of the ganglia in the pigeon intestinal myenteric nerve plexus and are more accurate for cell counting compared with conventional sections.
Demand for Aflatoxin‐Safe Maize in Kenya: Dynamic Response to Price and Advertising
Authors: Hoffmann Vivian , Moser Christine M. , Herrman Timothy J.
Published: April 2020

In countries where regulatory enforcement is weak, voluntary third‐party verification of firms' food safety processes can allow concerned consumers to select safer products. However, due in part to their legal ambiguity, and the potential to attract additional regulatory scrutiny, food safety claims are rarely made by firms. As a result, the impact of such claims on consumer demand is not well understood. We examine how labeling maize as tested for aflatoxin, a carcinogen also associated with stunting in children, affects sales. By randomly varying the timing and intensity of a marketing campaign to promote the first maize flour brand in Kenya labeled as tested for aflatoxin, we characterize dynamic consumer response to information about food safety. We find an immediate response in sales to marketing alone, which disappears as soon as marketing ceases. Sales remain elevated in the weeks after a temporary discount is offered, but this effect also fades over time and is not associated with greater awareness of the firm's food safety claims. These results suggest that it is unrealistic to expect for‐profit firms serving mass markets in low‐ and middle‐income countries to invest heavily in marketing based on food safety claims.
The prognostic value of the prognostic nutritional index in patients with metastatic colorectal cancer
Authors: Ucar Gokhan , Ergun Yakup , Acikgoz Yusuf , Uncu Dogan
Published: April 2020

Objective

The prognostic nutritional index (PNI) has been shown to be prognostic value for many types of cancer of the gastrointestinal system. However, there are limited data on its value for metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC). This study aimed to evaluate the prognostic value of PNI in newly diagnosed mCRC patients.

Methods

The data of 468 patients who had been admitted to our center upon being diagnosed with mCRC between January 2010 and December 2017 were reviewed retrospectively, whereby satisfying the inclusion criteria were included in the study. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis was used for PNI's optimum cut‐off value for overall survival (OS). The Cox regression model was used in the single‐variable analysis in order to test whether or not variables with prognostic properties were independent prognostic factors.

Findings

A total of 308 patients were included in the study. Sixty‐two percent (n = 192) of the patients were males, and the median age was 57.5 years (range: 25‐83). Forty‐five percent (n = 137) of the patients had KRAS mutation. Tumors localized in the colon accounted for 63% (n = 193) of the patients. The liver was the most common region of metastasis at 69%. According to the ROC curve, the optimal cut‐off value for PNI was 46 (sensitivity 74%, specificity 47%, AUC 0.615, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.54‐0.68,P = .002). One hundred and eighty‐two patients (59%) fell into the PNI‐High (> 46) group, while 126 patients (41%) fell into the PNI‐Low (≤ 46) group. The rectum localization was higher, whereas the neutrophil‐lymphocyte ratio and platelet‐lymphocyte ratio were lower in the PNI‐High group. There was no difference in terms of other patient characteristics. The median OS was significantly longer in the PNI‐High group compared to the PNI‐Low group (28.4 vs 19.1 months,P < .001). The Cox regression analysis showed that a high PNI was an independent positive prognostic factor (hazard ratio: 0.61, 95% CI: 0.42‐0.87,P = .007).

Discussion

We found PNI to be an independent prognostic factor in mCRC. We think that PNI, which can be calculated by a simple formula, may provide clinicians important clues in order to make desicion for individual treatment.
Fungal evolution: cellular, genomic and metabolic complexity
Authors: Naranjo‐Ortiz Miguel A. , Gabaldón Toni
Published: April 2020

The question of how phenotypic and genomic complexity are inter‐related and how they are shaped through evolution is a central question in biology that historically has been approached from the perspective of animals and plants. In recent years, however, fungi have emerged as a promising alternative system to address such questions. Key to their ecological success, fungi present a broad and diverse range of phenotypic traits. Fungal cells can adopt many different shapes, often within a single species, providing them with great adaptive potential. Fungal cellular organizations span from unicellular forms to complex, macroscopic multicellularity, with multiple transitions to higher or lower levels of cellular complexity occurring throughout the evolutionary history of fungi. Similarly, fungal genomes are very diverse in their architecture. Deep changes in genome organization can occur very quickly, and these phenomena are known to mediate rapid adaptations to environmental changes. Finally, the biochemical complexity of fungi is huge, particularly with regard to their secondary metabolites, chemical products that mediate many aspects of fungal biology, including ecological interactions. Herein, we explore how the interplay of these cellular, genomic and metabolic traits mediates the emergence of complex phenotypes, and how this complexity is shaped throughout the evolutionary history of Fungi.
Uptake of positron emission tomography tracers reflects the tumor immune status in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma
Authors: Kuriyama Kengo , Higuchi Tamami , Yokobori Takehiko , Saito Hideyuki , Yoshida Tomonori , Hara Keigo , Suzuki Shigemasa , Sakai Makoto , Sohda Makoto , Higuchi Tetsuya , Tsushima Yoshito , Asao Takayuki , Kaira Kyoichi , Kuwano Hiroyuki , Shirabe Ken , Saeki Hiroshi
Published: April 2020

The relationship between the local immune status and cancer metabolism regarding 18F‐FDG and 18F‐FAMT uptake in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) remains unknown. The present study examined the correlations between tumor immune status, clinicopathological factors, and positron emission tomography (PET) tracer uptake in ESCC. Forty‐one ESCC patients who underwent 18F‐FDG PET and 18F‐FAMT PET before surgery were enrolled in the study. Immunohistochemistry was conducted for programmed death 1 (PD‐1), CD8, Ki‐67, CD34, GLUT1 (18F‐FDG transporter) and LAT1 (18F‐FAMT transporter). ESCC specimens with high tumoral PD‐L1 and high CD8‐positive lymphocytes were considered to have “hot tumor immune status.” High PD‐L1 expression (53.7%) was significantly associated with tumor/lymphatic/venous invasion (P = 0.028, 0.032 and 0.018), stage (P = 0.041), CD8‐positive lymphocytes (P < 0.001), GLUT1 (P < 0.001), LAT1 expression (P = 0.006), Ki‐67 labelling index (P = 0.009) and CD34‐positive vessel counts (P < 0.001). SUVmax of 18F‐FDG was significantly higher in high PD‐L1 cases than in low PD‐L1 cases (P = 0.009). SUVmax of 18F‐FAMT was significantly higher in high PD‐L1 (P < 0.001), high CD8 (P = 0.012) and hot tumor groups (P = 0.028) than in other groups. High SUVmax of 18F‐FAMT (≥4.15) was identified as the only predictor of hot tumor immune status. High PET tracer uptake was significantly associated with cancer aggressiveness and hot tumor immune status in ESCC. PET imaging may be an effective tool to predict tumor immune status in ESCC with respect to immune checkpoint inhibitor sensitivity.
Treatment of chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyradiculoneuropathy patients with antibodies against paranodal proteins
Authors: Iijima Masahiro
Published: April 2020

Chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyradiculoneuropathy (CIDP) is an acquired immune‐mediated polyneuropathy characterized by relapsing or steadily progressive clinical course. A major feature of the syndrome is that it encompasses several pathogeneses, and it is actually assumed that both cellular and humoral immunity can be involved with superiority depending on the particular subtype. Although cellular immunity typified by macrophage‐derived demyelination can play an essential role in classical CIDP, other pathogeneses that involve humoral immunity, such as autoantibodies targeting node of Ranvier proteins (neurofascin155: NF155; contactin1: CNTN1; contactin‐associated protein1: Caspr1; and neurofascin186/140: NF186/140), can bring about functional demyelination and have been discovered in approximately 5–15% of CIDP patients. Interestingly, such antibodies commonly belong to the immunoglobulin G4 (IgG4) subclass, and thus lack complement‐binding sites and compete with other IgG subclasses for the antigens. Patients with these IgG4 autoantibodies share clinical presentations to a certain extent, and anti‐NF155 and anti‐CNTN1 antibodies are representative examples. Patients with these IgG4 subclass antibodies fulfill the conservative diagnostic criteria for CIDP: distal‐dominant weakness, tremor and sensory ataxia. These patients also show poor responses to conventional first‐line therapeutics, and are non‐responders to intravenous immunoglobulins in particular. Therefore, novel treatment strategies other than first‐line therapies are awaited, and to date, small retrospective studies and several case reports have suggested the efficacy of rituximab. Accordingly, the Efficacy and Safety of Rituximab in Refractory CIDP Patients with IgG4 Autoantibodies trial, a prospective trial investigating the efficacy and safety of rituximab, is currently in progress.
The Neighborhood Context of Eviction in Southern California
Authors: Lens Michael C. , Nelson Kyle , Gromis Ashley , Kuai Yiwen
Published: April 2020

In the United States, soaring rent burdens and a dearth of affordable housing leave millions of renters at risk of eviction. The eviction epidemic is particularly pronounced in California where advocates estimate that approximately 500,000 renters are evicted annually. Research has looked at individual–level determinants of evictions, but we know much less about the spatial dynamics of eviction and associations across neighborhoods. This is largely because data on evictions are sporadic and incomplete. We utilize data from American Information Research Services, Inc., that consists of publicly available California eviction court records for Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, and San Diego Counties between 2005 and 2015. We append eviction locations to two waves of the American Community Survey (ACS) to better understand the connection between concentrated disadvantage and neighborhood change and eviction. We find that evictions are much more likely to occur in neighborhoods with higher poverty rates and/or shares of African–American individuals than in neighborhoods with rising rent or income levels. These findings suggest that court–based evictions are much more likely to be found in areas with low–income households and racial minorities than in areas experiencing rapid neighborhood change as evidenced by rising rents or changing demographics.
In the interest of saving: Refugee‐led microfinance in Kampala, Uganda
Authors: Easton‐Calabria Evan , Hakiza Robert
Published: April 2020

Motivation

While livelihoods are increasingly promoted for refugees in long‐term situations of displacement, refugees can rarely access microfinance loans—the very start‐up capital generally considered necessary for creating businesses. Yet across Kampala, Uganda, refugees meet to place small amounts of money into group savings and take out and repay microloans.

Purpose

This article sheds light on this underexplored phenomenon through an empirical study of refugee‐led microfinance groups in Kampala and an overview of the existing local landscape of refugee‐serving organizations and microfinance institutions providing loans. We analytically reflect on the role of trust in executing microfinance programmes both for and by refugees.

Approach and Methods

We conducted snowball and purposive sampling, semi‐structured qualitative interviews, focus group discussions, and non‐participant observation.

Findings

Our study found that refugee‐led microfinance groups have created a loan structure that is successful for refugees—because it was developed by refugees—with low default rates. This success is underpinned by strong community trust between members. These groups access vulnerable populations important to humanitarian organizations, including women, single mothers, unregistered refugees and the very poor. However, despite filling an important gap in livelihoods assistance—the provision of business capital—refugee‐led microfinance groups lack large amounts of capital to loan members, and do not feel they provide adequate business, livelihoods and financial literacy trainings.

Policy Implications

Our findings suggest that non‐governmental organizations (NGOs) should support existing groups through offering safe spaces to hold meetings, and with financial and business trainings. Debunking stereotypes of refugees held by financial providers, and advocating for refugees’ financial rights remains crucial. Providing loan capital to groups to enable members to take out larger loans may offer another means of support, but collaboration between formal microfinance institutions or NGOs and refugee‐led groups must reinforce rather than devalue the networks of trust that contribute to grassroots savings and loan groups’ success.
R‐DHA‐oxaliplatin (R‐DHAOx) versus R‐DHA‐cisplatin (R‐DHAP) regimen in B‐cell lymphoma treatment: A eight‐year trajectory study
Authors: Lacout Carole , Orvain Corentin , Seegers Valérie , De Vries Manon , Mercier Mélanie , Farhi Jonathan , Clavert Aline , Thepot Sylvain , Moles Marie‐Pierre , Ifrah Norbert , Hunault‐Berger Mathilde , Tanguy‐Schmidt Aline
Published: April 2020

Background

The R‐DHAP regimen (rituximab, cisplatin, dexamethasone, and high‐dose cytarabine) is standardly used to treat relapsed Non‐Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL). Despite scarce data, cisplatin is frequently substituted with oxaliplatin (R‐DHAOx) to avoid nephrotoxicity. We compared nephrotoxicity of cisplatin and oxaliplatin based on creatinine‐based trajectory modeling.

Methods

All patients with NHL treated by R‐DHAP or R‐DHAOx in Angers hospital between January 01, 2007, and December 31, 2014, were included. Patients received cisplatin 100 mg/m2 or oxaliplatin 130 mg/m2 (d1) with cytarabine (2000 mg/m2, two doses, d2), dexamethasone (40 mg, d1‐4), and rituximab (375 mg/m2, d1). Creatinine levels were recorded before each cycle. Individual profiles of trajectories were clustered to detect homogeneous patterns of evolution.

Results

Twenty‐two patients received R‐DHAP, 35 R‐DHAOx, 6 switched from R‐DHAP to R‐DHAOx due to nephrotoxicity. Characteristics of patients were similar between two groups. Patients receiving R‐DHAP experienced more severe renal injury than patients receiving R‐DHAOx (68% vs. 7.7%, P < .001). Two homogeneous clusters appeared: cluster A, with a majority of R‐DHAOx (32, 91.4%), was less nephrotoxic than B, with a majority of R‐DHAP (19, 86.4%), with a decreased average serum creatinine level (P < .0001). There were no other differences between clusters.

Conclusions

Our study confirms that R‐DHAOx regimen causes less nephrotoxicity than R‐DHAP regimen.
Modified Delphi study of decision‐making around treatment sequencing in relapsing–remitting multiple sclerosis
Authors: Piena M. A. , Schoeman O. , Palace J. , Duddy M. , Harty G. T. , Wong S. L.
Published: April 2020

Background and purpose

Existing effectiveness models of disease‐modifying drugs (DMDs) for relapsing–remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS) evaluate a single line of treatment; however, RRMS patients often receive more than one lifetime DMD. To develop treatment sequencing models grounded in clinical reality, a detailed understanding of the decision‐making process regarding DMD switching is required. Using a modified Delphi approach, this study attempted to reach consensus on modelling assumptions.

Methods

A modified Delphi technique was conducted based on three rounds of discussion amongst an international group of 10 physicians with expertise in RRMS.

Results

The panel agreed that the expected time from disease onset to Expanded Disability Status Scale 6.0 is a proxy for disease severity as well as suitable for classifying severity into three groups. A modelled clinical decision rule regarding the timing of switching should contain at least the time between relapses, magnetic resonance imaging outcomes and the occurrence/risk of adverse events. The experts agreed that the assessment of adverse event risk for a DMD is dependent on disease severity, with more risks accepted when the patient’s disease is more severe. The effectiveness of DMDs conditional on their position in a sequence and/or disease duration was discussed: there was consensus on some statements regarding this topic but these were accompanied by a high degree of uncertainty due to considerable knowledge gaps.

Conclusion

Useful insights into the medical decision‐making process regarding treatment sequencing in RRMS were obtained. The knowledge gained has been used to validate the main modelling concepts and to further generate clinically meaningful results.
Estimating the contribution of Greenland Halibut (Reinhardtius hippoglossoides) stocks to nurseries by means of genotyping‐by‐sequencing: Sex and time matter
Authors: Carrier Emilie , Ferchaud Anne‐Laure , Normandeau Eric , Sirois Pascal , Bernatchez Louis
Published: April 2020

Identification of stocks and quantification of their relative contribution to recruitment are major objectives toward improving the management and conservation of marine exploited species. Next‐generation sequencing allows for thousands of genomic markers to be analyzed, which provides the resolution needed to address these questions in marine species with weakly differentiated populations. Greenland Halibut (Reinhardtius hippoglossoides) is one of the most important exploited demersal species throughout the North Atlantic, in particular in the Gulf of St. Lawrence, Canada. There, two nurseries are known, the St. Lawrence Estuary and the northern Anticosti Island, but their contribution to the renewal of stocks remains unknown. The goals of this study were (a) to document the genetic structure and (b) to estimate the contribution of the different identified breeding stocks to nurseries. We sampled 100 juveniles per nursery and 50 adults from seven sites ranging from Saguenay Fjord to offshore Newfoundland, with some sites sampled over two consecutive years in order to evaluate the temporal stability of the contribution. Our results show that after removing sex‐linked markers, the Estuary/Gulf of St. Lawrence represents a single stock which is genetically distinct from the Atlantic around Newfoundland (FST = 0.00146, p‐value = .001). Population assignment showed that recruitment in both nurseries is predominantly associated with the St. Lawrence stock. However, we found that the relative contribution of both stocks to the nurseries is temporally variable with 1% contribution of the Newfoundland stock one year but up to 33% for the second year, which may be caused by year‐to‐year variation in larval transport into the Gulf of St. Lawrence. This study serves as a model for the identification of stocks for fisheries resources in a context where few barriers to dispersal occur, in addition to demonstrating the importance of considering sex‐linked markers and temporal replicates in studies of population genomics.
Assessing the importance of autistic attributes for autism screening
Authors: Akyol Kemal
Published: April 2020

Autistic Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is a cognitive disease which leads to the loss of linguistic, communicative, cognitive, and social skills and abilities. Patients with ASD have diverse troubles such as sleeping problems. The role of genetic and environmental factors is of great importance in its pathophysiology. Early diagnosis provides an improved overall mental health of the patients. This study aimed to identify the important attributes for the best detection of this disorder in children, adolescents and adults. To achieve this aim, Recursive Feature Elimination and Stability Selection methods that consider important attributes for target class were proposed. The attributes collected from autism screening methods and other attributes such as age and gender were examined for the disease. The results verified the combining of feature selection method and machine learning algorithm within the frame of accuracy, sensitivity and specificity evaluation metrics.
Genome‐wide interaction screen for Mycobacterium tuberculosis ClpCP protease reveals toxin–antitoxin systems as a major substrate class
Authors: Ziemski Michal , Leodolter Julia , Taylor Gabrielle , Kerschenmeyer Anne , Weber‐Ban Eilika
Published: April 2020

In Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb), the Clp protease degradation pathway, mediated by the modular ClpCP and ClpXP protease complexes, is essential for growth and presents an attractive drug target. Employing a bacterial adenylate cyclase two‐hybrid (BACTH) screening approach that we adapted to screen the proteome of an Mtb ORF library, we identify protein interaction partners of the ClpC1 chaperone on a genome‐wide level. Our results demonstrate that bipartite type II toxin–antitoxin (TA) systems represent a major substrate class. Out of the 67 type II TA systems known in Mtb, 25 appear as ClpC1 interaction partners in the BACTH screen, including members of the VapBC, MazEF, and ParDE families, as well as a RelBE member that was identified biochemically. We show that antitoxins of the Vap and Rel families are degraded by ClpCP in vitro. We also demonstrate that ClpCP is responsible for mediating the N‐end rule pathway, since the adaptor protein ClpS supports ClpC‐dependent degradation of an N‐end rule model substrate in vitro.
Global patterns and controlling factors of soil nitrification rate
Authors: Li Zhaolei , Zeng Zhaoqi , Tian Dashuan , Wang Jinsong , Fu Zheng , Zhang Fangyue , Zhang Ruiyang , Chen Weinan , Luo Yiqi , Niu Shuli
Published: April 2020

Soil nitrification, an important pathway of nitrogen transformation in ecosystems, produces soil nitrate that influences net primary productivity, while the by‐product of nitrification, nitrous oxide, is a significant greenhouse gas. Although there have been many studies addressing the microbiology, physiology, and impacting environment factors of soil nitrification at local scales, there are very few studies on soil nitrification rate over large scales. We conducted a global synthesis on the patterns and controlling factors of soil nitrification rate normalized at 25°C by compiling 3,140 observations from 186 published articles across terrestrial ecosystems. Soil nitrification rate tended to decrease with increasing latitude, especially in the Northern Hemisphere, and varied largely with ecosystem types. The soil nitrification rate significantly increased with mean annual temperature (MAT), soil nitrogen content, microbial biomass carbon and nitrogen, soil ammonium, and soil pH, but decreased with soil carbon:nitrogen and carbon:nitrogen of microbial biomass. The total soil nitrogen content contributed the most to the variations of global soil nitrification rate (total coefficient = 0.29) in structural equation models. The microbial biomass nitrogen (MBN; total coefficient = 0.19) was nearly of equivalent importance relative to MAT (total coefficient = 0.25) and soil pH (total coefficient = 0.24) in determining soil nitrification rate, while soil nitrogen and pH influenced soil nitrification via changing soil MBN. Moreover, the emission of soil nitrous oxide was positively related to soil nitrification rate at a global scale. This synthesis will advance our current understanding on the mechanisms underlying large‐scale variations of soil nitrification and benefit the biogeochemical models in simulating global nitrogen cycling.
Adaptation to flooding in low‐income urban settlements in the least developed countries: A systems approach
Authors: Haque Anika Nasra , Bithell Mike , Richards Keith S.
Published: April 2020

This study aims to use a whole systems approach (1) to understand the processes of adaptation to flooding of the urban poor; (2) to identify new knowledge of how low‐income settlements might better adapt to climatic risks; and (3) to begin to develop appropriate guidance on this. Low‐income urban settlements in the least developed countries (LDCs) present an extreme case where catastrophic natural hazards and chronic social hazards overlap. These low‐income urban populations face the greatest adaptation challenges as they often occupy informal settlements that are particularly exposed to hazards, and have multiple vulnerabilities arising from their lack of basic services. There is a dynamic complexity of issues arising from the many levels of actor involved and multiple social and physical factors. Analysing such a complex phenomenon calls for a specific conceptual framing, and a systems theory approach is suggested to provide a holistic perspective. The case study for this research is located in Dhaka East, where there is both high vulnerability to flooding, and a significant low‐income population. The research has adopted a mixed methods approach involving different data collection methods governed by the different scales and actors being investigated. The research develops new systems understandings of perceptions and experiences of the local population about adaptation processes in low‐income urban settlements, and how these processes may be positively influenced by integrating bottom‐up and top‐down approaches.
Wideband frequency tunability of CaCu3Ti4O12‐based dielectric resonator antennas via the addition of glass
Authors: Ab Rahman Mohd Fariz , Ain Mohd Fadzil , Mohamad Hasmaliza , Mohamed Julie Juliewatty , Hassan Siti Roshayu , Ahmad Zainal Arifin
Published: April 2020

In this study, DRAs produced using CaCu3Ti4O12 (CCTO) as a high dielectric material (εr) was added with BaO–SrO–Nb2O5–B2O3–SiO2 (BSNBS) glass for possible tunability in a wideband frequency range. BSNBS glass (0.01‐1 wt%) was mixed with CCTO powders (calcined) and compacted at 250 MPa into mixed‐powder pellets. All the green body samples were then sintered at 1040°C for 10 hours. The wideband frequency tunability, measured using a network analyzer, showed that the addition of ≤0.05 wt% BSNBS glass decreased the resonance frequency from 9.51 to 9.33 GHz; later, the values increased to 9.89 GHz when BSNBS content was > 0.05 wt%. The εr of each sample was around 11‐36 when measured at 9.5‐11.8 GHz. The radiation pattern of CCTO for each sample that had been set up as a DRA radiated the signal equally or nearly identical to each other. Furthermore, the addition of BSNBS glass produced micrographs with finer grains, improved the density and reduced the porosity of the composite. Therefore, the addition of the BSNBS glass is a successful aid in the wideband frequency tunability of pure CCTO‐based ceramics when used as DRAs.
A home made of wood: Consumer experiences of wooden building materials
Authors: Viholainen Noora , Kylkilahti Eliisa , Autio Minna , Toppinen Anne
Published: April 2020

Having a home is a central part of the everyday consumer experience. In our study, we focus on Finnish homeowners who have recently bought an apartment in a multi‐family timber‐framed building. With its merits in sustainability, the number of timber buildings in less‐traditional urban applications is increasing, yet, research on living in a wooden home is scarce. To fill this gap, the study analyses how homeowners perceive the wooden material before and after living in a wooden home for one year. Thus, besides the acquisition of a home, the study examines the consumers' appropriation processes and aims to gain insight into the cultural sense‐making behind the appreciation of wooden homes. The results of this qualitative study indicate that traditions and memories related to wood affect consumers' appreciations, for example, regarding the cosiness of a wooden home. The consumers discussed the weaknesses assigned to wood, such as fire and moisture susceptibility, yet, they considered them to concern all construction materials, not only wood. After habitation for one year, the usability of the home becomes particularly relevant, including the ease with which shelves can be mounted onto the walls, enjoying the echoless soundscape, and living with clicking sounds and vibrating floors. The study suggests that the meanings of consumers' daily experiences concerning the usability of wooden buildings are under negotiation and cannot be reduced simply into positive or negative but carry elements of both.
Surgical details and renal function change after robot‐assisted partial nephrectomy
Authors: Shin Teak Jun , Song Cheryn , Kim Choung‐Soo , Ahn Hanjong
Published: April 2020

Objectives

To investigate whether differences in surgical details during robot‐assisted partial nephrectomy impact postoperative renal function.

Methods

Patient, tumor and perioperative characteristics of 751 patients who underwent robot‐assisted partial nephrectomy were analyzed with respect to the difference in ipsilateral glomerular filtration rate measured by diethylenetetramine pentaacetic acid renal scan. Detailed surgical methods defined for tumor excision (cutting vs splitting), hemostasis (suturing vs clipping) and renorrhaphy (continuous vs interrupted) were analyzed for early glomerular filtration rate decline and long‐term recovery.

Results

The glomerular filtration rate of the entire cohort decreased by 9.8 mL/min/1.73 m2 (22%) at 3 months postoperatively, gradually increasing thereafter. The recovery slope was 1.7 mL/min/1.73 m2/year during a median follow‐up period of 23.0 months. Early glomerular filtration rate decline was more pronounced in the cutting group (23.5 vs 20.1%, P = 0.009). Clipping was associated with less glomerular filtration rate decline throughout the observation period, and the recovery slope was also significantly higher (2.7 vs 1.1 mL/min/1.73 m2/year). In multivariate analysis, early decline was associated with age, preoperative glomerular filtration rate, parenchymal volume loss and ischemia >25 min. With respect to long‐term recovery, suturing had the greatest adverse impact (β = −5.060, P < 0.0001, 95% confidence interval −7.709, −2.411) in addition to parenchymal volume reduction and early decline. In the propensity‐matched cohort accounting for differences in tumor size and complexity, suturing was persistently associated with a significant glomerular filtration rate decline until >2 years after surgery.

Conclusions

Hemostatic sutures during robot‐assisted partial nephrectomy might interfere with long‐term renal function recovery irrespective of parameters that determine the initial function change. As the splitting method reduces the use of sutures, modifying these details might help preserve renal function.