bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Hydrogen-enhanced fatigue crack growth in steels and its frequency dependence
Authors: Matsunaga Hisao , Takakuwa Osamu , Yamabe Junichiro , Matsuoka Saburo
Published: June 2017

In the context of the fatigue life design of components, particularly those destined for use in hydrogen refuelling stations and fuel cell vehicles, it is important to understand the hydrogen-induced, fatigue crack growth (FCG) acceleration in steels. As such, the mechanisms for acceleration and its influencing factors are reviewed and discussed in this paper, with a special focus on the peculiar frequency dependence of the hydrogen-induced FCG acceleration. Further, this frequency dependence is debated by introducing some potentially responsible elements, along with new experimental data obtained by the authors.

This article is part of the themed issue ‘The challenges of hydrogen and metals’.
Hydrogen embrittlement: the game changing factor in the applicability of nickel alloys in oilfield technology
Authors: Sarmiento Klapper Helmuth , Klöwer Jutta , Gosheva Olesya
Published: June 2017

Precipitation hardenable (PH) nickel (Ni) alloys are often the most reliable engineering materials for demanding oilfield upstream and subsea applications especially in deep sour wells. Despite their superior corrosion resistance and mechanical properties over a broad range of temperatures, the applicability of PH Ni alloys has been questioned due to their susceptibility to hydrogen embrittlement (HE), as confirmed in documented failures of components in upstream applications. While extensive work has been done in recent years to develop testing methodologies for benchmarking PH Ni alloys in terms of their HE susceptibility, limited scientific research has been conducted to achieve improved foundational knowledge about the role of microstructural particularities in these alloys on their mechanical behaviour in environments promoting hydrogen uptake. Precipitates such as theγ′,γ′′ and δ-phase are well known for defining the mechanical and chemical properties of these alloys. To elucidate the effect of precipitates in the microstructure of the oil-patch PH Ni alloy 718 on its HE susceptibility, slow strain rate tests under continuous hydrogen charging were conducted on material after several different age-hardening treatments. By correlating the obtained results with those from the microstructural and fractographic characterization, it was concluded that HE susceptibility of oil-patch alloy 718 is strongly influenced by the amount and size of precipitates such as theγ′ andγ′′ as well as the δ-phase rather than by the strength level only. In addition, several HE mechanisms including hydrogen-enhanced decohesion and hydrogen-enhanced local plasticity were observed taking place on oil-patch alloy 718, depending upon the characteristics of these phases when present in the microstructure.

This article is part of the themed issue ‘The challenges of hydrogen and metals’.
Hydrogen in steels: discussion
Authors: Simpson E. Luke , Patel Mitesh
Published: June 2017

This session contained talks concerning hydrogen in steels from the point of view of simulation, experiment and industry.

This article is part of the themed issue ‘The challenges of hydrogen and metals’.
Hydrogen embrittlement: future directions—discussion
Authors: Lambert H. , Chen Y.-S.
Published: June 2017

The final session of the meeting consisted of a discussion panel to propose future directions for research in the field of hydrogen embrittlement and the potential impact of this research on public policy.

This article is part of the themed issue ‘The challenges of hydrogen and metals’.
Hydrogen effects in non-ferrous alloys: discussion
Authors: Patel Mitesh , Stopher Miles A.
Published: June 2017

This is a transcript of the discussion session on the effects of hydrogen in the non-ferrous alloys of zirconium and titanium, which are anisotropic hydride-forming metals. The four talks focus on the hydrogen embrittlement mechanisms that affect zirconium and titanium components, which are respectively used in the nuclear and aerospace industries. Two specific mechanisms are delayed hydride cracking and stress corrosion cracking.

This article is part of the themed issue ‘The challenges of hydrogen and metals’.
Mechanisms of hydrogen embrittlement in steels: discussion
Authors: Dear Felicity F. , Skinner Guy C. G.
Published: June 2017

This discussion session interrogated the current understanding of hydrogen embrittlement mechanisms in steels.

This article is part of the themed issue ‘The challenges of hydrogen and metals’.
Hydrogen-enhanced cracking revealed by
in situ
micro-cantilever bending test inside environmental scanning electron microscope
Authors: Deng Yun , Hajilou Tarlan , Barnoush Afrooz
Published: June 2017

To evaluate the hydrogen (H)-induced embrittlement in iron aluminium intermetallics, especially the one with stoichiometric composition of 50 at.% Al, a novel
in situ
micro-cantilever bending test was applied within an environmental scanning electron microscope (ESEM), which provides both a full process monitoring and a clean,
in situ
H-charging condition. Two sets of cantilevers were analysed in this work: one set of un-notched cantilevers, and the other set with focused ion beam-milled notch laying on two crystallographic planes: (010) and (110). The cantilevers were tested under two environmental conditions: vacuum (approximately 5 × 10
−4
 Pa) and ESEM (450 Pa water vapour). Crack initiation at stress-concentrated locations and propagation to cause catastrophic failure were observed when cantilevers were tested in the presence of H; while no cracking occurred when tested in vacuum. Both the bending strength for un-notched beams and the fracture toughness for notched beams were reduced under H exposure. The hydrogen embrittlement (HE) susceptibility was found to be orientation dependent: the (010) crystallographic plane was more fragile to HE than the (110) plane.

This article is part of the themed issue ‘The challenges of hydrogen and metals’.
A genome-wide polygenic approach to HIV acquisition uncovers link to inflammatory bowel disease and identifies potential novel genetic variants
Authors: Power Robert A. , Thorball Christian W. , Bartha Istvan , Perry John R.B. , McLaren Paul J , Oliveira Tulio de , Fellay Jacques
Published: June 2017

Polygenic approaches using genome-wide data have been hugely successful in confirming and quantifying the heritability of complex human traits. Here, we highlight their ability to identify potential novel risk variants by looking for variants with pleiotropic effect in genetically overlapping phenotypes.

We used LD Score Regression in a sample of 6,315 HIV+ European individuals and 7,247 controls to test for phenotypes genetically overlapping with susceptibility to HIV-1 infection. Using LD Hub, a web tool that performs LD Score Regression, identified two phenotypes with significant genetic overlap: schizophrenia (rG =0.19, p=0.0007 and ulcerative colitis (rG=0.22, p= 0.0061). We further showed that the genetic overlap between HIV acquisition and schizophrenia is likely driven in part by their shared overlap with cannabis use and sexual behavior. BUMHBOX analyses suggested that these genetic overlaps were driven by genome-wide pleiotropy with HIV acquisition rather than heterogeneity within the HIV acquisition sample. The two diseases identified as genetically overlapping with HIV-1 acquisition have >100 associated variants, and we tested if any of them significantly associated with HIV acquisition. We observed three variants that exceeded our threshold for statistical significance. Two of these were eQTLs in whole blood for genes coding for proteins suspected to be involved in HIV biology: rs1819333 inCCR6(p=0.0002) and rs4932178 inFURIN(p=0.00033). However, no signal was found for these variants in two smaller African samples totaling 1015 cases and 963 controls, though the mode of acquisition and genetic architecture of these populations differed.

These results highlight the ability to use polygenic methods to gain new insights into complex diseases and identify potential associations with individual variants. Crucially, the leveraging of existing, publically available data makes these methods a cost-effective approach. In this case, our results add to the evidence for the role of risk taking behavior and inflammation of the bowel in HIV acquisition.

Author Summary

The biology of what puts certain individuals at greater risk of HIV acquisition is poorly understood. Using several novel polygenic methods, we identify supporting evidence for two important factors leading to acquisition. First, the role of an individual’s genetic predisposition to risk taking behaviours such as number of sexual partners, age at first sexual intercourse drug use, and mental health problems. Second, the role of gut inflammation, in particular a genetic overlap between HIV acquisition with inflammatory bowel disease and the potential role of CCR6 during infection.
Fluctuations of fMRI activation patterns reveal theta-band dynamics of visual object priming
Authors: Guo Bingbing , Lu Zhengang , Goold Jessica E. , Luo Huan , Meng Ming
Published: June 2017

The brain dynamically creates predictions about upcoming stimuli to guide perception efficiently. Recent behavioral results suggest theta-band oscillations contribute to this prediction process, however litter is known about the underlying neural mechanism. Here, we combine fMRI and a time-resolved psychophysical paradigm to access fine temporal-scale profiles of the fluctuations of brain activation patterns corresponding to visual object priming. Specifically, multi-voxel activity patterns in the fusiform face area (FFA) and the parahippocampal place area (PPA) show temporal fluctuations at a theta-band (~5 Hz) rhythm. Importantly, the theta-band power in the FFA negatively correlates with reaction time, further indicating the critical role of the observed cortical theta oscillations. Moreover, alpha-band (~10 Hz) shows a dissociated spatial distribution, mainly linked to the occipital cortex. These findings, to our knowledge, are the first fMRI study that indicates temporal fluctuations of multi-voxel activity patterns and that demonstrates theta and alpha rhythms in relevant brain areas.
Variable sensitivity to DNA damaging chemotherapeutic modulated by cell type-dependent bimodal p53 dynamics
Authors: Yang Ruizhen , Huang Bo , Zhu Yanting , Li Yang , Liu Feng , Shi Jue
Published: June 2017

Mechanisms that determine drug sensitivity of distinct cancer types is poorly understood for most cytotoxic chemotherapy. In this study, we elucidated a new resistance mechanism to DNA damaging chemotherapeutic through modulation of p53 dynamics. While both sensitive and resistant cancer cell lines activated similar p53 oscillation followed by cell-cycle arrest in response to low dose of DNA damaging drug, they switched in a bimodal manner to monotonic or single pulse dynamics at high drug dose. Cell lines with monotonically increasing p53 underwent rapid and extensive drug-induced apoptosis, while those exhibiting a single p53 pulse mostly survived. By combining single cell imaging with computational modeling, we characterized a regulatory module involving ATM, p53, Mdm2 and Wip1, which generates bimodal p53 dynamics through coupled feed-forward and feedback, and we found that basal expression of ATM determined the differential modular output between drug sensitive and resistant lines. Moreover, we showed combinatorial inhibition of Mdm2 and Wip1 was an effective strategy to alter p53 dynamics in resistant cancer cells and sensitize their apoptotic response. Our results point to p53 pulsing as a potentially druggable mechanism that mediates resistance to cytotoxic chemotherapy.
A group of nuclear factor Y transcription factors are likely sub-functionalized in the endosperm development of monocot
Authors: Zhiguo E , Tingting Li , Huaya Zhang , Zehou Liu , Hui Deng , Sandeep Sharma , Xuefeng Wei , Lei Wang , Baixiao Niu , Chen Chen
Published: June 2017

Nuclear factor Y (NF-Y) is a heterotrimeric transcription factor that consists of three subunits, NF-YA, NF-YB, and NF-YC. Although NF-Ys play multiple roles in plant development, their functions during endosperm development are not well understood. In this study, we identified eight NF-Y encoding genes, includingOsNF-YA8, OsNF-YB1,9, andOsNF-YC8,9,10,11,12, which predominantly express in the rice endosperm. Interestingly, the closest homologs of these OsNF-Ys are present only in the monocot species. All the genes are preferentially expressed in the endosperm, suggesting their roles in the regulation of endosperm development. A systemic analysis of the interactions between rice endosperm-preferential NF-Ys in yeast revealed that NF-YBs and NF-YCs could interact with each other. OsNF-YA8 is a recently evolved NF-YA in rice. Generally, NF-YA does not interact with NF-YB monomers in plants; however, in the present study, we found that OsNY-YA8 interacts with OsNF-YB9. Our results also indicated that the endosperm-preferential OsNF-YBs and OsNF-YCs could interact with some ethylene response factors (ERFs) of rice. Unlike the OsNF-YC8,9,10, the members of OsNF-YB1, 9 or OsNF-YC 11 and 12 showed lack of transcriptional activation when present alone. However, they displayed functional activity while in dimer form. In addition,OsNF-YB1knockout lines showed significant changes in the seed morphology, further confirms its role in endosperm development. Our findings have provided strong evidences that the group of phylogenetically conserved NF-Ys are differentiated in monocots to regulate the endosperm development.
The mismeasure of (obese) man – body mass index is an inadequate indicator of body condition
Authors: Kratochvíl Lukáš , Flegr Jaroslav
Published: June 2017

The body mass index (BMI), recommended also by the World Health Organization, is currently used as the leading body condition indicator in clinical and epidemiological studies and has become popular among the general public. Here we provide evidence of a systematic bias in BMI, showing that BMI is dependent on body height. As a result, shorter persons have a greater chance of being classified as underweight, while taller persons as overweight, even if they have identical nutritional status. Use of BMI should be thus abandoned in diagnosis as well as in clinical and experimental studies.
Tumor subclonal progression model for cancer hallmark acquisition
Authors: Matsui Yusuke , Miyano Satoru , Shimamura Teppei
Published: June 2017

Recent advances in the methods for reconstruction of cancer evolutionary trajectories opened up the prospects of deciphering the subclonal populations and their evolutionary architectures within cancer ecosystems. An important challenge of the cancer evolution studies is how to connect genetic aberrations in subclones to a clinically interpretable and actionable target in the subclones for individual patients. In this study, our aim is to develop a novel method for constructing a model of tumor subclonal progression in terms of cancer hallmark acquisition using multiregional sequencing data. We prepare a subclonal evolutionary tree inferred from variant allele frequencies and estimate pathway alteration probabilities from large-scale cohort genomic data. We then construct an evolutionary tree of pathway alterations that takes into account selectivity of pathway alterations via selectivity score. We show the effectiveness of our method on a dataset of clear cell renal cell carcinomas.
Dissociation between CSD-evoked metabolic perturbations and meningeal afferent activation and sensitization: implications for mechanisms of migraine headache onset
Authors: Zhao Jun , Levy Dan
Published: June 2017

The onset of the headache phase during attacks of migraine with aura, which occur in about 30% of migraineurs, is believed to involve cortical spreading depression (CSD) and the ensuing activation and sensitization of primary afferent neurons that innervate the intracranial meninges, and their related large vessels. The mechanism by which CSD enhances the activity and mechanosensitivity of meningeal afferents remains poorly understood, but may involve cortical metabolic perturbations. We employed extracellular single-unit recording of meningeal afferent activity and monitored changes in cortical blood flow and tissue partial pressure of oxygen (tpO2) in anesthetized male rats to test whether the prolonged cortical hypoperfusion and reduction in tissue oxygenation that occur in the wake of CSD contribute to meningeal nociception. Suppression of CSD-evoked cortical hypoperfusion with the cyclooxygenase inhibitor naproxen blocked the reduction in cortical tpO2, but had no effect on the activation of meningeal afferents. Naproxen, however, distinctly prevented CSD-induced afferent mechanical sensitization. Counteracting the CSD-evoked persistent hypoperfusion and reduced tpO2by preemptively increasing cortical blood flow using the K(ATP) channel opener levcromakalim did not inhibit the sensitization of meningeal afferents, but prevented their activation. Our data show that the cortical hypoperfusion and reduction in tpO2that occur in the wake of CSD can be dissociated from the activation and mechanical sensitization of meningeal afferent responses suggesting that the metabolic changes do not contribute directly to these neuronal nociceptive responses.

Significance statement

CSD-evoked activation and mechanical sensitization of meningeal afferents is thought to mediate the headache phase in migraine with aura. We report that blocking the CSD-evoked cortical hypoperfusion and reduced tpO2by cyclooxygenase inhibition is associated with the inhibition of the afferent sensitization but not their activation. Normalization of these CSD-evoked metabolic perturbations by activating K(ATP) channels is, however, associated with the inhibition of afferent activation but not sensitization. These results question the contribution of cortical metabolic perturbations to the triggering mechanism underlying meningeal nociception and the ensuing headache in migraine with aura, further point to distinct mechanisms underlying the activation and sensitization of meningeal afferents in migraine and highlight the need to target both processes for an effective migraine therapy.
DeepARG: A deep learning approach for predicting antibiotic resistance genes from metagenomic data
Authors: Arango-Argoty G. A. , Garner E. , Pruden A. , Heath L. S. , Vikesland P. , Zhang L.
Published: June 2017

Growing concerns regarding increasing rates of antibiotic resistance call for global monitoring efforts. Monitoring of environmental media (e.g., wastewater, agricultural waste, food, and water) is of particular interest as these media can serve as sources of potential novel antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs), as hot spots for ARG exchange, and as pathways for the spread of ARGs and human exposure. Next-generation sequence-based monitoring has recently enabled direct access and profiling of the total metagenomic DNA pool, where ARGs are identified or predicted based on the “best hits” of homology searches against existing databases. Unfortunately, this approach tends to produce high rates of false negatives. To address such limitations, we propose here a deep leaning approach, taking into account a dissimilarity matrix created using all known categories of ARGs. Two models, deepARG-SS and deepARG-LS, were constructed for short read sequences and full gene length sequences, respectively. Performance evaluation of the deep learning models over 30 classes of antibiotics demonstrates that the deepARG models can predict ARGs with both high precision (>0.97) and recall (>0.90) for most of the antibiotic resistance categories. The models show advantage over the traditional best hit approach by having consistently much lower false negative rates and thus higher overall recall (>0.9). As more data become available for under-represented antibiotic resistance categories, the deepARG models’ performance can be expected to be further enhanced due to the nature of the underlying neural networks. The deepARG models are available both in command line version and via a Web server athttp://bench.cs.vt.edu/deeparg. Our newly developed ARG database, deepARG-DB, containing predicted ARGs with high confidence and high degree of manual curation, greatly expands the current ARG repository. DeepARG-DB can be downloaded freely to benefit community research and future development of antibiotic resistance-related resources.

Abbreviations

ARG

antibiotic resistance gene
PHF6 regulates phenotypic plasticity through chromatin organization within lineage-specific genes
Authors: Soto-Feliciano Yadira M. , Bartlebaugh Jordan M.E. , Liu Yunpeng , Sánchez-Rivera Francisco J. , Bhutkar Arjun , Weintraub Abraham S. , Buenrostro Jason D. , Cheng Christine S. , Regev Aviv , Jacks Tyler E. , Young Richard A. , Hemann Michael T.
Published: June 2017

Developmental and lineage plasticity have been observed in numerous malignancies and have been correlated with tumor progression and drug resistance. However, little is known about the molecular mechanisms that enable such plasticity to occur. Here, we describe the function of the plant homeodomain finger protein 6 (PHF6) in leukemia and define its role in regulating chromatin accessibility to lineage-specific transcription factors. We show that loss of Phf6 in B-cell leukemia results in systematic changes in gene expression via alteration of the chromatin landscape at the transcriptional start sites of B-cell- and T-cell-specific factors. Additionally, Phf6KO cells show significant down-regulation of genes involved in the development and function of normal B cells, show up-regulation of genes involved in T-cell signaling, and give rise to mixed-lineage lymphoma in vivo. Engagement of divergent transcriptional programs results in phenotypic plasticity that leads to altered disease presentation in vivo, tolerance of aberrant oncogenic signaling, and differential sensitivity to frontline and targeted therapies. These findings suggest that active maintenance of a precise chromatin landscape is essential for sustaining proper leukemia cell identity and that loss of a single factor (PHF6) can cause focal changes in chromatin accessibility and nucleosome positioning that render cells susceptible to lineage transition.
Bis(N′-{(E)-[(2E)-1,3-diphenylprop-2-en-1-ylidene]amino}-N-ethylcarbamimidothioato-κ2N′,S)zinc(II): crystal structure and Hirshfeld surface analysis
Authors: Tan Ming Yueh , Crouse Karen A. , Ravoof Thahira B. S. A. , Jotani Mukesh M. , Tiekink Edward R. T.
Published: June 2017

The title ZnIIcomplex, [Zn(C18H18N3S)2], (I), features two independent but chemically equivalent molecules in the asymmetric unit. In each, the thiosemicarbazonate monoanion coordinates the ZnIIatomviathe thiolate-S and imine-N atoms, with the resulting N2S2donor set defining a distorted tetrahedral geometry. The five-membered ZnSCN2chelate rings adopt distinct conformations in each independent molecule,i.e.one ring is almost planar while the other is twisted about the Zn—S bond. In the crystal, the two molecules comprising the asymmetric unit are linked by amine-N—H...N(imine) and amine-N—H...S(thiolate) hydrogen bondsviaan eight-membered heterosynthon, {...HNCN...HNCS}. The dimeric aggregates are further consolidated by benzene-C—H...S(thiolate) interactions and are linked into a zigzag supramolecular chain along thecaxisviaamine-N—H...S(thiolate) hydrogen bonds. The chains are connected into a three-dimensional architectureviaphenyl-C—H...π(phenyl) and π–π interactions, the latter occurring between chelate and phenyl rings [inter-centroid separation = 3.6873 (11) Å]. The analysis of the Hirshfeld surfaces calculated for (I) emphasizes the different interactions formed by the independent molecules in the crystal and the impact of the π–π interactions between chelate and phenyl rings.
Crystal structure of bis[tetrakis(tetrahydrofuran-κO)lithium] bis[μ-2,2′,2′′-methanetriyltris(4,6-di-tert-butylphenolato)-κ4O,O′:O′,O′′]dimagnesiate
Authors: Zhou Hongyan , Wang Lei
Published: June 2017

The title ion-association metal complex, [Li(C4H8O)4]2[Mg2(C43H61O3)2], has been synthesized from the tridentate phenolic ligand tris(3,5-di-tert-butyl-2-hydroxyphenyl)methane in tetrahydrofuran (THF). The aryloxo magnesiate complex anion is binuclear with each Mg2O4complex unit inversion-related and bridged through the two tridentate chelating phenolate O-donors of the ligand. The complex centres have a distorted tetrahedral stereochemistry [Mg—O range 1.8796 (17)–2.0005 (16) Å] and an Mg...Mg separation of 2.9430 (14) Å]. The LiO4coodination sphere of the cation comprises four THF O-donor atoms and has a slightly distorted tetrahedral conformation [Li—O range 1.899 (5)– 1.953 (5) Å]. In the crystal, a number of stabilizing intra-anion C—H...O hydrogen-bonding interactions are present but no inter-species associations are found.
Crystal structures ofN′-aminopyridine-2-carboximidamide andN′-{[1-(pyridin-2-yl)ethylidene]amino}pyridine-2-carboximidamide
Authors: Eya'ane Meva Francois , Prior Timothy John , Evans David John , Mang Emmanuel Roland
Published: June 2017

The crystal structures ofN′-aminopyridine-2-carboximidamide (C6H8N4),1, andN′-{[1-(pyridin-2-yl)ethylidene]amino}pyridine-2-carboximidamide (C13H13N5),2, are described. The non-H atoms in compound1are nearly planar (r.m.s. deviation from planarity = 0.0108 Å), while2is twisted about the central N—N bond by 17.8 (2)°. Both molecules are linked by intermolecular N—H...N hydrogen-bonding interactions;1forms a two-dimensional hydrogen-bonding network and for2the network is a one-dimensional chain. The bond lengths of these molecules are similar to those in other literature reports of azine and diimine systems.
Crystal structure of dichlorido(1,2-phenylenediamine-κ2N,N′)platinum(II)
Authors: Konno Yosuke , Matsushita Nobuyuki
Published: June 2017

The PtIIatom in the title compound, [PtCl2{(C6H4)(NH2)2}], lies on a twofold rotation axis and has a slightly distorted square-planar coordination environment defined by two N atoms of an 1,2-phenylenediamine ligand and two Cl−ions. In the crystal, the planar complex molecules are stacked parallel to thecaxis, resulting in a columnar structure. In a column, an infinite almost straight Pt...Pt chain is formed, suggesting weak metal–metal interactions [Pt...Pt = 3.3475 (8) Å]. The crystal packing is stabilized by a three-dimensional N—H...Cl hydrogen-bonding network between the amino groups and the Cl ligands of adjacent molecules.
Crystal structure of μ-oxalato-κ2O1:O2-bis[(dimethyl sulfoxide-κO)triphenyltin(IV)]
Authors: Pouye Serigne Fallou , Cisse Ibrahima , Diop Libasse , Dolmella Alessandro , Bernès Sylvain
Published: June 2017

In the previously reported [C2O4(SnPh3)2] complex [Diopet al.(2003).Appl. Organomet. Chem.17, 881–882.], the SnIVatoms are able to formally complete their coordination by addition of dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) molecules provided by the reaction medium, affording the title complex, [Sn2(C6H5)6(C2O4)(C2H6OS)2]. The SnIVatoms are then pentacoordinated, with a commontranstrigonal–bipyramidal arrangement. The asymmetric unit contains one half-molecule, which is completed by inversion symmetry in space group typeC2/c. The inversion centre is placed at the mid-point of the central bis-monodentate oxalate dianion, C2O42−, which bridges the [(SnPh3)(DMSO)] moieties. The molecule crystallizes as a disordered system, with two phenyl rings disordered by rotation about their Sn—C bonds, while the DMSO molecule is split over two positions due to a tetrahedral inversion at the S atom. All disordered parts were refined with occupancies fixed of 0.5.
1-(6-Nitro-1H-indazol-1-yl)ethanone
Authors: Mohamed Abdelahi Mohamed Mokhtar , El Bakri Youness , El Karkour Meryeme , Benchidmi Mohammed , Essassi El Mokhtar , Mague Joel T.
Published: June 2017

In the title molecule, C9H7N3O3, the indazole moiety is essentially planar and the mean plane of the acetyl substituent is twisted by 5.3 (1)° from its plane. In the crystal, weak C—H...O and C—H...N hydrogen bonds form layers parallel to (102), which are associated through π-stacking interactions to form a three-dimensional network. The structure was refined as a two-component twin.
Dibenzyl({1-[(4-methyl-2-phenyl-4,5-dihydro-1,3-oxazol-4-yl)methyl]-1H-1,2,3-triazol-4-yl}methyl)amine
Authors: Boukhssas Salaheddine , Aouine Younas , Faraj Hassane , Alami Anouar , El Hallaoui Abdelilah , Zouihri Hafid
Published: June 2017

In the title compound, C28H29N5O, the molecule adopts an approximate U-shape, a conformation imposed at least in part by an intramolecular π–π contact between the two five-membered rings, which display a centroid-to-centroid separation of 3.6522 (7) Å. The planes of these rings are inclined to one another by 66.12 (5)°. A weak intramolecular C—H...·N hydrogen bond is also found. The planes of the phenyl rings of the amine unit are inclined at a dihedral angle of 81.10 (4)°, while that of the 4,5-dihydrooxazole ring makes an angle of 11.74 (8)° with its phenyl substituent. The crystal packing is stabilized by C—H...N hydrogen bonds that form chains parallel to thebaxis. Several C—H...π(ring) contacts are also present.
A hybrid SD-DEMATEL approach to develop a delay model for construction projects
Authors: Parchami Jalal Majid , Shoar Shahab
Published: June 2017

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to develop a model for complex interconnected structure of various factors interacting with delay in order to identify the most important factors influencing and influenced by delay based on their interrelations.

Design/methodology/approach

Reviewing literature and interviewing with local experts selected from the Iranian construction industry, top 58 delay factors were identified and categorized into six major groups. The interrelations among these factors were, then, modeled using the system dynamics (SD) approach. The resulting causal loop diagrams obtained from SD were used subsequently for identifying the most significant factors influencing and influenced by delay through the Decision Making Trial and Evaluation Laboratory (DEMATEL) method. The impact of factors on each other was finally determined based on the opinions of 63 experts selected from the Iranian community of consultants, contractors, and clients.

Findings

According to the analysis, eight out of the 58 factors were identified as the most influencing factors on delay, and nine factors were found to be the most influenced factors by delay in the field of delay analysis. The study also concluded that factors related to labors are the most important and influential factors. In addition, factors related to client were the most influencing factors and external-related factors were the least important ones. At the end, some recommendations to reduce variation of delay in the construction projects are presented as well.

Originality/value

Considering the interconnected structure of the factors, the paper identifies the most important factors interacting with time delay in construction projects.
Quantifying gender distances in education, occupation and employment
Authors: Symeonaki Maria , Filopoulou Celestine
Published: June 2017

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the role of gender in education, occupation and employment in Southern Europe and more specifically in Greece, Italy, Portugal and Spain. The goal is to provide measures that can trace gender differences with respect to their educational and employment features in these countries, explore whether these differences converge over time and compare the patterns observed in each country given their socio-economic similarities.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper uses raw data drawn from the European Social Survey (ESS) for the decade 2002-2012. It provides a method for quantifying gender differences in education, occupation and employment and their evolution over time based on distance measures.

Findings

The results reveal that gender distances in education have gradually subsided in these countries. However, occupational choices differ steadily over the years for all countries. The paper provides, therefore, solid evidence that equalizing the level of education between men and women during those years did not result in a decrease in the occupational distances between them. Moreover, based on the latest round the findings suggest that men and women are equally likely to having experienced unemployment within the last five years.

Research limitations/implications

Further research could be done to include results based on raw data from the seventh round of the ESS. This may provide valuable information for Spain and Portugal who did participate in this round.

Social implications

This research implies that more needs to be done to accelerate progress in order to achieve gender occupational equality in Southern Europe.

Originality/value

This paper draws attention to issues concerning gender differences in education, horizontal and vertical segregation and employment for which it provides distance measures and evidence of how they have evolved over time, based on raw data analysis from the ESS.
Communicating technological innovations
Authors: Wagner Timm F. , Baccarella Christian V. , Voigt Kai-Ingo
Published: June 2017

Purpose

Consumers’ perceptions of new technologies are vital for the adoption of innovations. However, due to the complexity of technological innovations and associated consumer concerns, marketing communications play a crucial role in shaping attitudes. In this context, the level of technical complexity presented in advertisements can be a critical determinant of communication effectiveness. The paper aims to discuss this issue.

Design/methodology/approach

By conducting an experiment in the context of plug-in hybrid electric cars, this study examines the impact of technical complexity on communication effectiveness. The authors also include consumers’ product involvement as a potential moderator of this relationship.

Findings

This paper reveals that individuals with low product involvement respond more favourably to technically simple ads. However, medium-involved consumers show the best responses towards ads with a high level of technical complexity. Interestingly, the authors could not find significant attitude differences for high-involvement individuals in terms of the level of technical complexity.

Practical implications

The results support the notion that the advice “keep it short and simple” is not always appropriate. In particular, when marketers want to communicate technological innovations, a more complex presentation can provoke positive reactions, when the audience has at least a medium level of product involvement.

Originality/value

There is little evidence concerning how technical complexity within marketing communications affects consumer attitudes. This study significantly contributes to the understanding of how advertisements of technological innovations are perceived by consumers.
Trust, integrated information technology and new product success
Authors: Ettlie John E. , Tucci Christopher , Gianiodis Peter T.
Published: June 2017

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the combined roles via trust relationships of the two technology cores of the firm: information technology (IT) and R&D and their impact on new product success.

Design/methodology/approach

A model was tested whereby trust and the integrated IT strategy account for a significant amount of the variance in a broad range of new product development (NPD) outcomes for a survey sample of 223 manufacturing firms. Respondents said design practices and quality methods like Six Sigma accounted for a total of over 25 percent of the reports of the most helpful approaches in promoting effective NPD. At the same time their biggest challenges were having a clear strategic direction within which to operate and resolving cost and resource issues which accounted for over a third (34 percent) of barriers to success.

Findings

Respondents reported that a total of over 25 percent of the reports of the most helpful approaches in promoting effective included these quality methods. At the same time their biggest challenges were having a clear strategic direction within which to operate and resolving cost and resource issues which accounted for over a third (34 percent) of barriers to success. High-tech firms were less likely to report integrated IT strategies, but this tended to be counterbalanced by high levels of trust in the IT function and adoption of organizational innovations for execution of strategic intent. Implications for future research and practice are discussed.

Research limitations/implications

Survey methods produce broad results with low response rates in most studies involving R&D and NPD, and this study is no exception.

Practical implications

With the challenge of strategy alignment reported by many of these firms, it seems clear that the top management team cannot afford to leave NPD challenges to engineering teams and NPD programs without guidance and general vision.

Social implications

NPD has become the staple of most manufacturing firms as a way of meeting and beating the competition worldwide. However, trust between functional areas often starts before people are even employed and should begin in training and educational programs.

Originality/value

Designing NPD programs is at the heart of many firms’ competitive strategies and the fast learning companies are the winners. Very little is known about the trust relationship between IT and R&D and their combined effects on new product success which we have found to be significant and unexpected in their impacts.
The importance of the evaluation of expectations and perceptions to improve the dental service quality
Authors: Rocha Juliana , Pinto Andres , Batista Marilia , Paula Janice Simpson de , Ambrosano Glaucia
Published: June 2017

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the use of SERVQUAL to assess service quality in Dentistry, by evaluating patients’ expectations and perceptions of dental care and their association to patients’ sociodemographic data.

Design/methodology/approach

The sample constituted of 379 subjects in the first assessment and 155 in the second phase. All employees of the companies that were clients of the dental insurance participated, a total of four companies in two states (São Paulo and Minas Gerais) of Brazil. SERVQUAL questionnaires about expectations and sociodemographic data were dispatched in the first phase, and in a second phase SERVQUAL questionnaires about perceptions. Those who had not yet received dental treatment and had agreed to participate filled out their survey in the first phase. In the second phase, the respondents had to have completed their treatment.

Findings

When the value gap is considered, Reliability (as a dimension) had the smallest score (−3.71). This means that it was the worst result, i.e. there is a higher difference between expectations and perceptions, and problems can be identified here. t-test confirmed that all the dimensions had some statistically significant difference with p<0.05 in relation to expectations and perceptions. Women presented higher prevalence of dissatisfaction (Tangible and Reliability dimensions), as well as the oldest participants (Empathy dimension) and those with lower parental literacy (Assurance and Empathy dimensions). The only dimension that was not significantly associated was Responsiveness.

Originality/value

This research suggests that the patients evaluated the physical characteristics of the premises and the interaction with the staff as the priority issues that need special attention in this service. Moreover, the use of SERVQUAL was extremely relevant for the oral health service, because it assessed the users’ subjective perceptions.
Efficiency of inpatient orthopedic surgery in Japan: a medical claims database analysis
Authors: Nakata Yoshinori , Yoshimura Tatsuya , Watanabe Yuichi , Otake Hiroshi , Oiso Giichiro , Sawa Tomohiro
Published: June 2017

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to determine the characteristics of healthcare facilities that produce the most efficient inpatient orthopedic surgery using a large-scale medical claims database in Japan.

Design/methodology/approach

Reimbursement claims data were obtained from April 1 through September 30, 2014. Input-oriented Banker-Charnes-Cooper model of data envelopment analysis (DEA) was employed. The decision-making unit was defined as a healthcare facility where orthopedic surgery was performed. Inputs were defined as the length of stay, the number of beds, and the total costs of expensive surgical devices. Output was defined as total surgical fees for each surgery. Efficiency scores of healthcare facilities were compared among different categories of healthcare facilities.

Findings

The efficiency scores of healthcare facilities with a diagnosis-procedure combination (DPC) reimbursement were significantly lower than those without DPC (p=0.0000). All the efficiency scores of clinics with beds were 1. Their efficiency scores were significantly higher than those of university hospitals, public hospitals, and other hospitals (p=0.0000).

Originality/value

This is the first research that applied DEA for orthopedic surgery in Japan. The healthcare facilities with DPC reimbursement were less efficient than those without DPC. The clinics with beds were the most efficient among all types of management bodies of healthcare facilities.
Reducing wrong intraocular lens implants in cataract surgery
Authors: Loh Huey Peng , de Korne Dirk Frans , Chee Soon Phaik , Mathur Ranjana
Published: June 2017

Purpose

Wrong lens implants have been associated with the highest frequency of medical errors in cataract surgery. The purpose of this paper is to explore the use of the Systems Engineering Initiative for Patient Safety (SEIPS) framework to sustainably reduce wrong intraocular lens (IOL) implants in cataract surgery.

Design/methodology/approach

In this mixed-methods study, the SEIPS framework was used to analyse a series of (near) misses of IOL implants in a national tertiary specialty hospital in Singapore. A series of interventions was developed and applied in the case hospital. Risk assessment audits were done before the interventions (2012; n=6,111 surgeries), during its implementation (n=7,475) and in the two years post-interventions (2013-2015; n=39,390) to compare the wrong IOL-rates.

Findings

Although the absolute number of incidents was low, the incident rate decreased from 4.91 before to 2.54 per 10,000 cases after. Near miss IOL error decreased from 5.89 before to 3.55 per 1,000 cases after. The number of days between two IOL incidents increased from 35 to an initial peak of 385 before stabilizing on 56. The large variety of available IOL types and vendors was found as the main root cause of wrong implants that required reoperation.

Practical implications

The SEIPS framework seems to be helpful to assess components involved and develop sustainable quality and safety interventions that intervene at different levels of the system.

Originality/value

The SEIPS model is supportive to address differences between person and system root causes comprehensively and thereby foster quality and patient safety culture.
Culture and social identity in preserving cultural heritage: an experimental study
Authors: Chng Kean Siang , Narayanan Suresh
Published: June 2017

Purpose

Due to the non-rivalrous and non-excludable characteristics of properties classified as being part of the cultural heritage of a city, owners of these properties face a lower incentive to maintain them. Many studies have advocated the participation of the local community in the maintenance of such “public” properties because community demands and tastes are better reflected through direct participation than through government intervention. One of the main factors that may determine whether or not such participation would be forthcoming is whether the community identifies with elements that the cultural heritage building represents. The purpose of this paper is to examine the cultural effects of the Chinese community with regard to the preservation of the heritage buildings that reflect the community’s early presence in George Town, Penang.

Design/methodology/approach

An experimental method was used to invoke feelings of social identity through historical and cultural photos about these buildings associated with the community. The authors attempted to create an emotional attachment to the cultural and historical values in a laboratory.

Findings

The authors found that information increased the participants’ positive feelings toward their historical and cultural backgrounds. This positive emotion might explain why the subjects appeared more willing to contribute to the public pool to maintain these buildings. The findings suggest that the incorporating cultural and historical information about heritage buildings may encourage more pro-social behaviors.

Social implications

Although community participation and discussions can help to align the conservation objectives of diverse stakeholders, the divergence between individual and collective interests may cause individuals to shirk from their commitment, given the public nature of the goods. Therefore, investigating whether a factor that aligns diverse interests or the nature of the game can influence behavior is important to the development of strategies used in the provision of public good.

Originality/value

Although the impact of social identity on social dilemma has been widely studied, the empirical proof and its application to preservation of cultural heritage has not been studied. As far as the authors know, this is the first paper that experimentally proves the importance of social identity and its role in provision of social goods.
Does ESG performance have an impact on financial performance? Evidence from Germany
Authors: Velte Patrick
Published: June 2017

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to concentrate on environmental, social and governance performance (ESGP) in total and divided in each component and evaluate their impact on financial performance (FINP).

Design/methodology/approach

The study covers a sample selection of companies listed on the German Prime Standard (DAX30, TecDAX, MDAX) for the business years 2010-2014 (412 firm-year observations). A correlation and regression analysis was carried out to evaluate possible links between ESGP as determined by the Asset4 database of Thomson Reuters and accounting and market-based measures of FINP (Return on Assets [ROA] and Tobin’s Q).

Findings

ESGP has a positive impact on ROA but no impact on Tobin’s Q. Furthermore, by analyzing the three different components of ESGP, governance performance has the strongest impact on FINP in comparison to environmental and social performance.

Originality/value

The analysis makes a key contribution to the empirical corporate social responsibility (CSR) research as the author breaks down ESGP into their three components and include both accounting-based and market-based FINP measures for the German setting for the first time. Not only companies but also regulators and researchers are affected by the notion that CSR and FINP are close together and should be lead to a successful stakeholder management.