bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
HRM practices and organizational commitment link: maritime scope
Authors: Aydoğan Engin , Arslan Özcan
Published: May 2020

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the relationship between human resource management (HRM) practices bundles and organizational commitment, and find answers for questions on which of these bundles contribute how to the employees’ performance and loyalty according to their demographic characteristics in maritime market.

Design/methodology/approach

Two separate surveys were applied to 104 employees of international maritime companies. Factor and reliability analyses were carried out to ensure the surveys’ validity and reliability. Then, correlation analysis was conducted to determine whether there is a relationship between HRM practices and organizational commitment. Finally, independent groupst-test was used to determine if perceptions of employees on HRM practices and their organizational commitment vary according to their demographic characteristics.

Findings

Moderate positive and negative linear relationships between HRM practices bundles and organizational commitment were found. Also, significant differences between the organizational commitment levels of employees and their perceptions on the effects of HRM practices to their performance were determined.

Research limitations/implications

Surveys were conducted only on Turkish employees in maritime sector and companies only that published annual and social responsibility report were examined.

Practical implications

HR managers should pay attention on HRM practices bundles to increase the level of employee’s organizational commitment and performance. While doing this, they also should take their employees’ demographic characteristics on account. This study can give clues about management of employees with different perceptions on performance and commitment.

Originality/value

The authors add the literature by identifying the link between HRM practices bundles and organizational commitment. To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study, which reveals the link between HRM practices bundles and organizational commitment dimensions, separately. Also, an original new questionnaire was produced, which measures the employees’ perceptions on the effects of HRM practices to performance.
A practical approach to improve product of energy efficiency and capacity rate in MU-MIMO systems
Authors: Taneja Ashu , Saluja Nitin
Published: May 2020

Purpose

The major challenges in the modern-day wireless communication systems are increased co-channel interference owing to large number of users and the increased energy consumption owing to high circuit and/or hardware power consumption. Hence, the purpose of this paper is to present a practical approach involving linear precoding, channel estimation, user selection (US) and transmit antenna selection (AS) for enhanced reliability in multiuser multiple-input multiple output (MU-MIMO) system.

Design/methodology/approach

The proposed technique considers systematic and optimum deployment of users and transmits antennas for each selected user which enhances the sum rate or the system capacity. The comparison of algorithms, namely, norm-based and capacity-based US is presented with its implementation with precoding techniques, namely, block-diagonalization (BD) and zero-forcing with combining (ZFC) which is used to minimize co-channel interference. In this paper, a power consumption model is proposed for energy efficiency calculation in MU-MIMO system. Also, post analysis, the variant of US and AS algorithms optimizing the performance of BD and ZFC precoding technique is proposed.

Findings

It is seen that the proposed MU-MIMO system with norm-based US and norm-based AS improves over existing US-based systems by 43% in terms of sum rate and 19% in terms of energy efficiency for 100 users.

Originality/value

It is seen that the proposed MU-MIMO system with norm-based US and norm-based AS improves over existing US-based systems by 43% in terms of sum rate and 19% in terms of energy efficiency for 100 users.
Design of admittance controller with sliding mode based on disturbance observer for elbow joint actuated by pneumatic muscles
Authors: Wang Binrui , Huang Jiqing , Shen Guoyang , Chen Dijian
Published: May 2020

Purpose

Active compliance control is the key technology for Tri-Co robots (coexisting–cooperative–cognitive robots) to interact with the environment and people. This study aims to make the robot arm shake hands compliantly with people; the paper proposed two closed-loop-compliant control schemes for the dynamic identification of cascade elbow joint.

Design/methodology/approach

The active compliance control strategy consists of inner and outer loops. The inner loop is the position control using sliding mode control with disturbance observer (SMCDO), in which a new saturation function is designed to replace the traditional signal function of sliding mode control (SMC) law so as to mitigate chatter. The outer loop is the admittance control to regulate the dynamic behaviours of the elbow joint, i.e. its impedance. The simulation is carried out to verify the performance of the proposed control scheme.

Findings

The results show that the chatter of traditional SMC can be effectively eliminated by using SMCDO with this saturation function. In addition, for the handshake task, the value of threshold force and elbow joint compliance is defined. Then, the threshold force tests, impact tests and elbow-joint compliance tests are carried out. The results show that, in the impedance model, the elbow joint compliance only depends on the stiffness parameters, not on the position control loop.

Practical implications

The effectiveness of the admittance control based on SMCDO can improve the adaptability of industrial manipulator in different working environments to some degree.

Originality/value

The admittance control with SMCDO completed trajectory tracking has higher accuracy than that based on SMC.
Five thoughts about improving science communication as an organizational activity
Authors: Besley John C.
Published: May 2020

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to describe five key lessons learned from a decade of studying how scientists and science communicators think about communication strategy.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper is based on the experience of the researcher and the underlying literatures on strategic communication and science communication.

Findings

The key argument is that the scientific community needs to put more priority into enabling organizations to plan and implement strategic communication efforts on behalf of science. At present, there is too much reliance on individual communicators.

Originality/value

The value of this paper is in the degree to which it argues for a more strategic, organization-focused approach to science communication that emphasizes the setting of clear behavioral goals, followed by discussion about what communication objectives might help achieve those goals and the communication tactics needed to achieve the prioritized objectives.
Internal control and real earnings management in the French context
Authors: Wali Sonda , Masmoudi Sana Mardessi
Published: May 2020

Purpose

This study aims to examine whether the internal control system quality in the French context improve the information quality having been reflected by the level of real earnings management (REM) measured by inventory overproduction, discretionary expenses reduction and sales manipulation.

Design/methodology/approach

The research uses a multiple regression analysis to examine the association between internal control and REM. The years 2010-2015 are used as analysis period by focusing on the French context. Three panel data are applied to the companies belonging to the Cotation Assistée en Continu (CAC) 40 index for the entire study period.

Findings

The results show that high internal control index has a negative impact on the REM and that better internal control indeed makes financial reporting more credible to investors. Further, the results demonstrate that control environment, risk assessment, control activities and monitor are the components that mainly affect REM.

Originality/value

The results contribute to the literature dealing with the relationship between internal control quality and REM by shedding light on the importance of internal control quality in improving information quality in the French context. Moreover, this study is using a quantitative measure of the internal control quality while much of the prior literature uses material weaknesses to estimate the effectiveness of internal control system.
Maslow’s model of needs: application to Cunard and White Star marketing communications between 1900 and the 1950s
Authors: Gladden Graham
Published: May 2020

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to analyse Cunard’s marketing communications during a period of significant social and economic change. The intention is to show, firstly, how the company sought to meet and influence potential passengers’ understanding of their travel needs and, secondly, how these would be met.

Design/methodology/approach

The companies’ marketing communications are analysed using Maslow’s hierarchy. This is a well known descriptor of human needs.

Findings

Beyond a description and review of Cunard’s advertising, Maslow’s model of needs is shown to provide a rationale to the company’s approach. In particular, it gives an understanding of the continued, though changing, use of images of the ship to meet the needs of different cohorts of passengers. It shows how carefully constructed images in both word and picture assuaged passengers’ concerns over social needs and how the company promised to meet the highest needs, whether that be for the holiday maker or the emigrant.

Research limitations/implications

During much of the period under discussion, much of the advertising design work was done in house. Though none of these files have survived, other sources of information (for example, house magazines and internal correspondence) provide an understanding of Cunard’s attitude to its customers and the business opportunities it saw in a changing market. Where specific dates for documents are not available, a chronology of ship building and use has been applied.

Practical implications

This paper shows how a well-established model can be used in a different way, adding to the understanding of a company adapting to changing social and economic conditions.

Originality/value

To the best of author’s knowledge, this is the first time that Maslow’s hierarchy has been used explicitly as a tool to analyse marketing and advertising material. Though the existing literature includes some discussion of shipping line posters visual content, there is little further discussion of their content or purpose in a changing social context. This paper provides a more structured analytical view.
Long run commonality in Indian stocks: empirical evidence from national stock exchange of India
Authors: Kumar Gaurav , Misra Arun Kumar
Published: May 2020

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to investigate long-run commonality in liquidity using multiple proxies computed from limited order book data of NIFTY50 stocks. The findings indicate the existence of systematic liquidity or commonality on NIFTY50 market and comprising industries.

Design/methodology/approach

The sample comprises all intraday transactions corresponding to NIFTY 50 stocks for April 2015. The study runs firm by firm time series regressions to test the concept of long-run commonality, while controlling other effects.

Findings

Strong evidence is found in support of long-run commonality across three liquidity measures. On the basis of significance (10%) of long-run commonality beta (βLR), the strength of long-run commonality is found to be highest in natural resources and infrastructure sector. Portfolios having greater exposure to these sectors will face diversification risk to a great extent.

Practical implications

Knowledge of long-run commonality helps portfolio managers in formulating diversification strategies and reshuffling the portfolio over the period. Commonality risk being non-diversifiable is a policy concern for regulators and central bankers. Its empirical evidence will assist in managing exchange organization and thus preventing market crashes because of sudden liquidity evaporation.

Originality/value

Although there are recent studies documenting commonality in short run, little empirical work has been done on commonality in the long run and in emerging markets such as India. This research contributes to the literature by testing concept of commonality in long-run on NIFTY50 stocks using detailed transaction data from National Stock Exchange.
Empowering Jordanian women through entrepreneurship
Authors: Banihani Muntaha
Published: May 2020

Purpose

A strong correlation has been found across several countries between women’s positions in society and economic development, suggesting that there is a relationship between women’s empowerment and countries’ economic development. Despite the impact women have in terms of economic activity and job creation, however, the role of women entrepreneurs is often underplayed and undervalued. Therefore, this paper aims to investigate the challenges women entrepreneurs face in Jordan to uncover ways to empower them.

Design/methodology/approach

This qualitative research used in-depth interviews with 15 women to investigate their perceptions regarding the challenges affecting their businesses. Semi-structured interviews were used to allow participants flexibility in expressing their views and experiences. The results from the interviews were analysed using NVIVO software to identify themes and categories.

Findings

It was found that women entrepreneurs in Jordan still face many challenges, primarily related to family responsibilities, networking and physical mobility.

Research limitations/implications

Recommendations for scholars and decision makers are presented to reduce the impact of the challenges faced by women entrepreneurs in Jordan.

Originality/value

This research contributes to the current entrepreneurial literature as it provides a deeper understanding of the experiences of women entrepreneurs in Jordan. Thus, it heeds the call for more research on women entrepreneurs in developing countries. In shedding light on the experiences of female entrepreneurs in Jordan, this paper provides strong arguments for challenging the traditional social perceptions regarding the roles of women.
Eye for an eye? Frontline service employee reactions to customer incivility
Authors: Frey-Cordes Regina , Eilert Meike , Büttgen Marion
Published: May 2020

Purpose

Frontline service employees (FSEs) face high demands of emotional labor when dealing with difficult, and sometimes even uncivil, customer behavior while attempting to deliver service with a smile. The purpose of this study is to investigate whether employees reciprocate uncivil customer behavior. The authors investigate two potential processes – ego threat and perceived interactional justice – and further address boundary conditions of this effect.

Design/methodology/approach

The data for this paper were collected in three studies: one field experiment and two online experiments using adult samples. Hypotheses were tested and data was analyzed using ANOVA and regression-based modeling approaches.

Findings

Findings from a field-experimental study and online experiments show that FSEs offer lower service levels to uncivil customers. The authors further find that this effect is mediated by a perceived ego threat and that employees’ regulation of emotion (ROE), as part of their emotional intelligence, attenuates the effect of perceived ego threats on service levels.

Research limitations/implications

This study finds that perceived ego threat (but not perceived interactional justice) explains why employees respond negatively to uncivil customer behavior. Therefore, it offers an emotion-driven explanation of retaliatory behavior in frontline service contexts. Implications for theories focusing on service value co-destruction and customer incivility are discussed.

Practical implications

The findings from this research show that ROE attenuates the impact of perceived ego threat on employee retaliatory behavior. Managerial implications include developing and training employees on emotion regulation. Furthermore, managers should identify alternative ways for restoring an employee’s ego after the employee experiences uncivil customer behavior.

Originality/value

The authors propose and test two processes that can explain why employees reciprocate uncivil customer behavior to gain a deeper understanding of which processes, or a combination of the two, drive employee responses. Furthermore, the authors shed insights into boundary conditions and explore when employees are less likely to react to uncivil customer behavior while experiencing ego threat.
Augmented intelligence technology. The ethical and practical problems of its implementation in libraries
Authors: Wójcik Magdalena
Published: May 2020

Purpose

The subject of the article is the concept of augmented intelligence, which constitutes a further stage in the development of research on artificial intelligence. This is a new phenomenon that has rarely been considered in the subject literature so far, which may be interesting for the fields of social sciences and humanities. The aim is to describe the features of this technology and determine the practical and ethical problems associated with its implementation in libraries.

Design/methodology/approach

The method of literature review was used. Systematic searches according to specific questions were carried out using the Scopus and Web of Science scientific databases, as well as Google Scholar and the LISTA abstract database.

Findings

The results established that the issue of augmented intelligence has barely been discussed in the field of librarianship. Although this technology may be interesting as a new area of librarian research and as a new framework for designing innovative services, deep ethical consideration is necessary before this technology is introduced in libraries.

Research limitations/implications

The article deals with some of the newest technologies available, and this topic is generally very rarely discussed in scientific publications in either the social sciences or humanities. Therefore, due to the limited availability of materials, the findings presented in the article are primarily of a conceptual nature. The aim is to present this topic from the perspective of librarianship and to create a starting point for further discussion on the ethical aspects of introducing new technologies in libraries.

Practical implications

The results can be widely used in practice as a framework for the implementation of augmented intelligence in libraries.

Social implications

The article can help to facilitate the debate on the role of implementing new technologies in libraries.

Originality/value

The problem of augmented intelligence is very rarely addressed in the subject literature in the field of library and information science.
The role of continuous trust in usage of online product recommendations
Authors: Ashraf Muhammad , Ahmad Jamil , Sharif Wareesa , Raza Arslan Ali , Salman Shabbir Muhammad , Abbas Mazhar , Thurasamy Ramayah
Published: May 2020

Purpose

This study examines the role of continuous trust (i.e., a trust that develops over time as a result of continuous usage interactions) in determining customers' intention to continue using online product recommendations (OPRs).

Design/methodology/approach

Based on information system (IS), continuance model, and continuous trust, we propose that continuous trust will influence customers’ intention to continue OPRs’ use directly and indirectly via their satisfaction and usefulness of the OPRs. The research model is tested using data collected via an online survey from 626 existing users of OPRs in 15 different countries.

Findings

The empirical results revealed that continuous trust is shown to be a significant predictor of customers’ intention to continue OPRs use for future purchases. Additionally, the customers’ perceived confirmation and continuous trust positively influence their perceived usefulness and satisfaction with the OPRs, which subsequently influence customers’ OPRs continuous usage intention.

Research limitations/implications

The saliency of continuous trust and usefulness of OPRs present e-retailers with potential fruitful areas to shape future usage of OPRs. In addition, e-retailers must understand that improving the OPR usefulness on its own may not lead to OPRs continuous usage until OPRs trustworthiness is not continually improved. OPRs itself may be convenient and useful, but trustworthy OPRs will pay stronger dividends for customer satisfaction and OPRs’ continuous usage.

Originality/value

The incorporation of continuous trust into the IS continuance model offers a new theoretical lens and an alternative explanation for the OPR continuous usage intention. This study stands in contrast to the large majority of research concerning initial trust and OPRs adoption, in that it focuses on continuous trust (as opposed to initial trust) and on a customers’ OPRs continuous usage intention as opposed to the initial adoption decision.
The impact of corruption on the human security of societies in transition (Iraq case study since 2003)
Authors: Hassan Ahmed Mohamed
Published: May 2020

Purpose

Iraqi society has suffered from loss or fragility of human security since 2003. The developmental policies, programs and plans of the successive Iraqi Governments throughout the transitional period have not been able to achieve human security, despite the availability of different resources. They have also not prevented or limited the spread of corruption, according to domestic and international reports. Now the country faces a large phenomenon of corruption and the dilemma of human security loss. This study aims to ascertain the nature of the relationship between the phenomenon of corruption and the dilemma of loss or fragility of human security in Iraq since 2003 to learn about the form of this relationship, how the selected variables contribute to the two phenomena and determine the degree of impact of corruption and its dimensions on human security and its components.

Design/methodology/approach

This research uses the social survey methodology of the sample taken from the Iraqi society and benefits from system analysis approach to identify the inputs and outputs of the variables researched. Moreover, the study uses the case study methodology to collect data and information precisely in an in-depth manner to support qualitative and quantitative analysis and clarifies the situation at the macro level of both phenomena.

Findings

Findings show the prevalence of corruption structurally in the Iraqi state and society. The contribution of dimensions and selected indicators in the spread of corruption and lack of human security varies. Findings also underline a strong statistical correlation between the two variables and their reverse relationship. In other words, the more the corruption is, the less the opportunities of human security are. There is also a strong impact of corruption and its dimensions on the conditions of human security factors.

Practical implications

The paper provides profitable findings and recommendations, which can be used by the Iraqi relevant institutions to eliminate corruption, achieve human security and benefit from its indicators in research and development.

Originality/value

The new addition of this research can be represented by linking the two phenomena and trying to build national standards with the capacity to describe, interpret and predict.
Fostering collisions in interdisciplinary graduate education
Authors: O’Meara KerryAnn , Culpepper Dawn
Published: May 2020

Purpose

Using the lens of social physics, this study aims to examine how, if at all, one graduate training program fostered collisions or meaningful interactions, between students and faculty from different disciplinary backgrounds.

Design/methodology/approach

Qualitative, ethnographic case study methods.

Findings

The University of Maryland’s National Research Traineeship program fostered collisions between students and faculty from different disciplinary backgrounds by facilitating exploration, idea flow and engagement within an interdisciplinary scholarly community. These collisions generated productive opportunities for student learning, development and collaborations, but at times also produced non-generative outcomes.

Practical implications

This study names specific, strategic activities (e.g. regular research talks, physical space) that graduate programs can use to facilitate interdisciplinary collaborations among students and faculty and considers the extent to which such activities contribute to organizational change.

Originality/value

This paper applies new theories (collisions and social physics) to understanding interdisciplinary collaboration and identifies aspects of graduate training programs that may be replicable in other institutional settings.
The learning region tradition: a cultural reappraisal
Authors: Knudsen Jon P.
Published: May 2020

Purpose

The learning region has over the years become popular as a concept to portray and analyse subnational geographic entities heading for future growth and well-being. Claiming analytic and political relevance, the concept nevertheless retains much unclarified ideological content.

Design/methodology/approach

This study traces its roots to varieties of heterodox economic thinking where it has gained a prominent place.

Findings

While being strong on the value of different kinds of knowledge to economic development, the concept has a much weaker grip on the cultural rationales for knowledge and learning.

Originality/value

Thus, the study concludes with a need for a cultural reorientation to take place if the concept is going to retain its significance in the future academically as politically.
Residents’ perceptions and attitudes towards tourism development: a perspective article
Authors: Rasoolimanesh S. Mostafa , Seyfi Siamak
Published: May 2020

Purpose

This paper aims to briefly highlight the evolution and overview of theories and methods applied to studies on residents’ perceptions and attitudes towards tourism development and proposes several new areas of inquiry for future scholarly research.

Design/methodology/approach

This is a paper that highlights the past perspectives and future developments of residents’ impact perceptions of and attitudes towards tourism development.

Findings

This paper highlighted the theoretical and methodological perspectives of published articles in a few past decades on residents’ perceptions and attitudes. Moreover, this research showed that the future research on residents’ perceptions and attitudes should address emerging issues, such as over-tourism, as well as the technology-related factors. New theoretical and methodological perspectives are also proposed to investigate residents’ attitudes towards tourism development and its impacts.

Originality/value

This paper proposes several new areas of inquiry in relation to residents’ perceptions and attitudes towards tourism development for future research.
Tourism and the sustainable development goals in the Abaco cays: pre-hurricane Dorian in the Bahamas
Authors: Francis Raymond Maxwell , Nair Vikneswaran
Published: May 2020

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to explore how tourism investment, business and operations were aligned with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in the Abaco Cays pre-Hurricane Dorian 2019 in The Bahamas.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper takes an exploratory qualitative approach using the Abaco Cays, The Bahamas as the geographical study area. Semi-structured interviews were conducted face-to-face for data collection and transcribed using NVivo 12 plus. Critical discourse analysis was used to interpret interviewees’ spoken words in the broader social context of the Abaco Cays.

Findings

Results illustrate the extent of tourism alignment with the SDGs in communities, dependent on tourism for growth. Findings from tourism investment, business and operations data analysis provide insights on tourism and the SDGs from a local perspective.

Research limitations/implications

This research demonstrates how tourism aligns with the SDGs in one geographical area of The Bahamas. It also highlights discourses influencing tourism and the SDGs towards achieving the 2030 Agenda.

Practical implications

A practical implication of this paper is adopting a bottom-up approach for a comprehensive understanding of tourism alignment with the SDGs in the Abaco Cays.

Originality/value

This paper provides implementation guidelines for communities in the Abaco Cays, to align local sustainable tourism plans with the SDGs. It also provides a multidisciplinary approach for greater coherence of tourism with the SDGs from the community to the national level in the Bahamas.
Characterization of acne patients carrying clindamycin‐resistant Cutibacterium acnes: A Japanese multicenter study
Authors: Nakase Keisuke , Aoki Sae , Sei Sayaka , Fukumoto Sana , Horiuchi Yuki , Yasuda Takae , Tanioka Miki , Sugai Junichi , Huh Wook‐Kang Winnie , Kakuta Mie , Nomoto Mayumi , Shimada Tokihiko , Watanabe Masako , Kobayashi Miwa , Murakami Saori , Takeo Chikage , Tsubouchi Rieko , Hayashi Nobukazu , Noguchi Norihisa
Published: May 2020

Use of antimicrobials for acne treatment is correlated with an increased occurrence of antimicrobial‐resistant Cutibacterium acnes. To clarify the role of antimicrobial use on the resistance and to investigate the characteristics of resistant strains, we conducted a multicenter study in dermatological clinics frequently visited by new patients with acne vulgaris. We collected specimens in 264 acne patients and tested 164 C. acnes strains isolated from 164 patients visiting 13 dermatological clinics. Antimicrobial susceptibility testing showed that the rates of resistance for tetracyclines, macrolides and clindamycin were significantly higher in C. acnes strains isolated from patients using antimicrobials for acne treatment than patients not using them. In particular, clindamycin‐resistant strains were frequently isolated from patients with older median age (≥24 years) and severe/moderate acne. After investigating the resistance mechanism of 15 high‐level clindamycin‐resistant strains, the transposable clindamycin resistance genes, erm(X) or erm(50), were detected in 14 strains. Using single‐locus sequence typing for C. acnes, the strains with erm(X) or multidrug resistance plasmid pTZC1 coding erm(50) and tetracycline resistance gene tet(W) were classified into clade F, which were specifically isolated from Japanese patients with acne, except for one strain. Our data showed that patients’ information, such as antimicrobial use, age and acne severity, are valuable in estimating whether a patient carries antimicrobial‐resistant C. acnes. Additionally, our results suggest that the clade F strains have a high risk of acquiring multidrug resistance.
Behavioral parameters of six populations of Meccus phyllosomus longipennis (Heteroptera: Reduviidae) from areas with high and low prevalences of Trypanosoma cruzi human infection
Authors: Martínez‐Ibarra José Alejandro , Nogueda‐Torres Benjamín , Montañez‐Valdez Oziel Dante , Michel‐Parra J. Guadalupe , Ambriz‐Santos Miguel Ángel
Published: May 2020

Three behaviors of epidemiological importance, namely feeding latency, feeding duration and defecation latency, for six populations of Meccus phyllosomus longipennis (Usinger) from areas of central, western and north‐central Mexico with high (HP) and low (LP) prevalence of Trypanosoma cruzi (Chagas) human infection were evaluated in this study. The median feeding latency (the time taken to begin feeding) was highly variable between instars. Within–instar comparisons showed that at least 65% of the LP populations (N3 to adult) started to feed significantly (P < 0.05) later than the HP population, with N1 showing no difference, and N2 from LP populations feeding sooner than those from HP populations. The six populations had similar median feeding durations within instars. A higher (P < 0.05) percentage of the instars from HP populations defecated faster than the respective instars from the three LP populations. Approximately 25% of the young nymphs (N1 to N3) and females in the HP populations defecated < 2 min postfeeding, compared with 4%–6% of the young nymphs and 1.3%–3% of females in the LP populations. Moreover, 17.7%–38.8% of the older nymphs (N4 to N5) in the HP populations and 6.8%–13.4% in the LP populations defecated during or immediately after feeding. Our results indicate that the HP populations have a greater potential than the LP populations to transmit T. cruzi infections, which may underlie the differences in the prevalence of T. cruzi infection in some areas where M. p. longipennis is currently distributed.
Effect of long‐term consumption of tea (Camellia sinensis L.) flower polysaccharides on maintaining intestinal health in BALB/c mice
Authors: Chen Dan , Ding Yu , Ye Hong , Sun Yi , Zeng Xiaoxiong
Published: May 2020

Polysaccharides have various health‐promoting functions. However, dietary polysaccharides cannot be digested by the human alimentary tract, thus the gut is the most important location where polysaccharides play their role. The effect of polysaccharides from tea (Camellia sinensis L.) flower (TFPS) on intestinal health was investigated in the present study. TFPS with the molecular weight of 1,316.29 kDa was prepared, and twenty 6‐week‐old BALB/c male mice were randomly allotted to a chow diet (normal control group, NC group) or with 200 mg/kg (body weight)/day of TFPS for 13 weeks (n = 10 each). Histomorphology observation of jejunum and colons showed that TFPS maintained the adequate gut barrier. qPCR analysis revealed that the expression of colonic tight junction proteins of claudin1 (1.29 ± 0.15 compared with 1.00 ± 0.13, P < 0.05) and claudin5 (2.91 ± 0.44 compared with 1.00 ± 0.27, P < 0.01) at mRNA level with a significant difference between TFPS supplement or not, while the expression of TLR4 and TNF‐α mRNA was not changed statistically. 16S rDNA amplicons sequencing was applied to measure the compositions of gut microbiota from feces of mice. TFPS treatment exhibited similar relative abundances in Bacteroidetes and Firmicutes; however, it decreased the relative abundance of Akkermansia and increased that of Lactobacillus compared with the NC group. The contents of short‐chain fatty acids after TFPS supplementation, both in cecal contents and feces, were significantly higher than those of the NC group. Besides, TFPS significantly increased IgA production. These results suggest that TFPS is beneficial to intestinal health and can improve intestinal adaptive immune tolerance.

Practical Application

Dietary polysaccharides improve human intestinal health. Understanding the effect of TFPS, safe and healthy food components, on gut health increases the likelihood that TFPS will be developed as a functional food.
Methadone‐Assisted Opiate Withdrawal and Subsequent Heroin Abstinence: The Importance of Psychological Preparedness
Authors: Jones Steve , Jack Barbara , Kirby Julie , Wilson Thomas L. , Murphy Philip N.
Published: May 2020

Background and Objectives

Treatment guidelines emphasize patients’ readiness for transitioning from opiate substitution treatment (OST) to opiate withdrawal and abstinence. Psychological preparedness indicators for this transition were examined.

Methods

Patients (all male) were recruited from three treatment settings: prison, an inpatient detoxification unit, and an outpatient clinic. Time 1 (T1) was admission to methadone‐assisted withdrawal in all settings. Time 2 (T2) was a 6‐month follow‐up. With n = 24 at T1 for each group (N = 72), a battery of instruments relevant to psychological preparedness was administered.

Results

At T1, inpatients had higher self‐efficacy beliefs for successful treatment completion than prison patients. For patients contactable at T2, T1 self‐efficacy positively predicted T2 opiate abstinence. No other variable improved prediction. T1 SOCRATES (Stages of Change Readiness and Treatment Eagerness Scale) ambivalence scores, age, and lifetime heroin use duration predicted maintenance of contact or not with treatment services and contactability by the researcher. Measures of mood did not differ between groups at T1 or predict T2 outcomes.

Discussion and Conclusions

Self‐efficacy beliefs are a potentially useful indicator of readiness for transitioning from OST to a medically assisted opiate withdrawal and subsequent abstinence. Ambivalence regarding change, age, and lifetime heroin use duration are potentially useful predictors of patients maintaining contact with services, and of being retained in research.

Scientific Significance

These findings advance existing literature and knowledge by highlighting the importance of self‐efficacy in psychological preparedness for opiate abstinence, and the predictive utility to clinicians of this and other variables measurable at admission, in the clinical management of opiate users. (© 2020 The Authors. The American Journal on Addictions published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of The American Academy of Addiction Psychiatry). (Am J Addict 2021;30:11–20)
Individualism‐collectivism and nation as moderators of the job satisfaction‐organisational citizenship behaviour relationship in the United States, China, and Kuwait
Authors: Alkhadher Othman , Beehr Terry , Meng Li
Published: May 2020

Employees who hold collectivistic values care more about the interests of their group or collective than do their individualistic counterparts. We examined the potential effects of the combination of individual values, nations, and job satisfaction on organizational citizenship behaviours among 308 public school teachers in China, Kuwait, and the United States. Collectivist values of employees predicted their organizational citizenship behaviours (OCBs). Both collectivistic values and country moderated the relationship between job satisfaction and OCB. Job satisfaction was more positively related to OCB directed at the organization for employees in China and Kuwait than for employees in the United States, but job satisfaction was more positively related to OCB directed toward individuals for employees who were lower in collectivism. This study is one of the few that has tested the potential role of individuals’ collectivism values in their performance of helping behaviours at work across multiple countries.
Probabilistic borderwork
Authors: BOZÇALI FIRAT
Published: May 2020

How are borders made porous? In Turkey's Kurdish borderlands, smugglers are not just agents who operate under cover of night, but city‐based traders whose legal practices create a third space in between legality and illegality. Kurdish oil traders accused of smuggling work closely with lawyers to perform what I call probabilistic borderwork. This is a deliberate counterstate political strategy that uses scientific uncertainty to challenge smuggling charges, achieve nonillegality, and legally disrupt the state's border enforcement. Going beyond existing categories of law and politics, probabilistic borderwork is not a rights‐claiming political‐legal action. Rather, it is a form of techno‐legal political agency involving collaboration between otherwise disparate professional groups. [oil, borders, law, techno‐politics, the Kurds, Turkey]
Augmentation of labor with oxytocin and its association with delivery outcomes: A large‐scale cohort study in 12 public hospitals in Nepal
Authors: Litorp Helena , Sunny Avinash K. , Kc Ashish
Published: May 2020

Introduction

The use of oxytocin to augment labor is increasing in many low‐resource settings; however, little is known about the effects of such use in contexts where resources for intrapartum monitoring are scarce. In this study, we sought to assess the association between augmentation of labor with oxytocin and delivery outcomes.

Material and methods

We conducted a cohort study in 12 public hospitals in Nepal, including all deliveries with and without augmentation of labor with oxytocin, but excluding elective cesarean sections, women with missing information on augmentation of labor, and women without fetal heart rate on admission. Bivariate and multivariate logistic regression calculating the crude and adjusted risk ratio (aRR) with corresponding 95% CI were performed, comparing (a) intrapartum stillbirth and first‐day mortality (primary outcome); and (b) intrapartum monitoring, mode of delivery, postpartum hemorrhage, bag‐and‐mask ventilation of the newborn, Apgar score, and neonatal death before discharge (secondary outcomes) among women with and without oxytocin‐augmented labor.

Results

The total cohort consisted of 78 931 women, of whom 28 915 (37%) had labor augmented with oxytocin and 50 016 (63%) did not have labor augmented with oxytocin. Women with augmentation of labor had no increased risk of intrapartum stillbirth and first‐day mortality (aRR 1.24, 95% CI 0.65‐2.4), but decreased risks of suboptimal partograph use (aRR 0.71, 95% CI 0.68‐0.74), suboptimal fetal heart rate monitoring (aRR 0.50, 95% CI 0.48‐0.53), and emergency cesarean section (aRR 0.62, 95% CI 0.59‐0.66), and increased risks of bag‐and‐mask ventilation (aRR 2.1, 95% CI 1.8‐2.5), Apgar score <7 at 5 minutes (aRR 1.65, 95% CI 1.49‐1.86), and neonatal death (aRR 1.93, 95% CI 1.46‐2.56).

Conclusions

Although augmentation of labor with oxytocin might be associated with beneficial effects, such as improved monitoring and a decreased risk of cesarean section, its use may lead to an increased risk of adverse perinatal outcomes. We urge for a cautious use of oxytocin to augment labor in low‐resource contexts, and call for evidence‐based guidelines on augmentation of labor in low‐resource settings.
Editorial: how widespread and serious is non‐alcoholic fatty liver disease in the real world?
Authors: Harris Rebecca , West Joe , Morling Joanne R.
Published: May 2020

LINKED CONTENT

This article is linked to Loomba et al papers. To view these articles, visit https://doi.org/10.1111/apt.15679 and https://doi.org/10.1111/apt.15694.
Editorial: the most commonly used IBD indices still fail to represent real life and subjective patient experience. Author’s reply
Authors: Pariente Benjamin
Published: May 2020

LINKED CONTENT

This article is linked to Lauriot dit Prevost et al and Creemers et al papers. To view these articles, visit https://doi.org/10.1111/apt.15681 and https://doi.org/10.1111/apt.15720.
Opportunities for using in silico‐based extended dosing regimens for monoclonal antibody immune checkpoint inhibitors
Authors: Peer Cody J. , Goldstein Daniel A. , Goodell Jennifer C. , Nguyen Ryan , Figg William D. , Ratain Mark J.
Published: May 2020

Therapeutic drug monitoring (TDM) involves frequent measurements of drug concentrations to ensure levels remain within a therapeutic window, and it is especially useful for drugs with narrow therapeutic indices or extensive interindividual pharmacokinetic variability. This technique has never been applied to immuno‐oncology drugs, but, given recent examinations of clinical data (both exposure and response) on a number of these drugs, further investigations into TDM may be justified to reduce costs as well as potentially reducing the severity and/or duration of immune‐related adverse events. Specifically, all but one of the approved PD‐1 and PD‐L1 inhibitors (pembrolizumab, nivolumab, cemiplimab‐rwlc, atezolizumab, avelumab, durvalumab) have been shown to exhibit a plateaued exposure‐response (E‐R) curve at doses evaluated extensively to date, as well as time‐dependent changes in drug exposure. Furthermore, responders have a greater decrease in drug clearance over time and would, therefore, have supratherapeutic serum concentrations. With frequent trough measurements, it is possible to use pharmacokinetic modelling and simulation to estimate drug clearance via Bayesian methods. Based on patient‐specific estimates for clearance, optimal alternative dosing strategies can be simulated to lower drug and cost burden yet maintain therapeutic levels, especially as the clearance of the drug decreases over time. This review will comprehensively discuss each of the FDA approved PD‐1, PD‐L1/2 and CTLA‐4 inhibitors regarding their indications and current recommended dosing, with evidence supporting the investigation of these types of TDM strategies.
Clinical and pathological characteristics of peripheral T‐cell lymphomas in a Spanish population: a retrospective study
Authors: Rodriguez‐Pinilla Socorro Maria , Domingo‐Domenech Eva , Climent Fina , Sanchez Joaquin , Perez Seoane Carlos , Lopez Jimenez Javier , Garcia‐Cosio Monica , Caballero Dolores , Blanco Muñez Oscar Javier , Carpio Cecilia , Castellvi Josep , Martinez Pozo Antonio , Gonzalez Farre Blanca , Bendaña Angeles , Aliste Carlos , Gonzalez Ana Julia , Gonzalez de Villambrosia Sonia , Piris Miguel A. , Gomez Codina Jose , Mayordomo‐Aranda Empar , Navarro Belen , Bellas Carmen , Rodriguez Guillermo , Borrero Juan Jose , Ruiz‐Zorrilla Ana , Grande Marta , Montoto Carmen , Cordoba Raul
Published: May 2020

We investigated the clinicopathological features and prognostic factors of patients with peripheral T‐cell lymphoma (PTCL) in 13 sites across Spain. Relevant clinical antecedents, CD30 expression and staining pattern, prognostic indices using the International Prognostic Index and the Intergruppo Italiano Linfomi system, treatments, and clinical outcomes were examined. A sizeable proportion of 175 patients had a history of immune‐related disorders (autoimmune 16%, viral infections 17%, chemo/radiotherapy‐treated carcinomas 19%). The median progression‐free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) were 7·9 and 15·8 months, respectively. Prognostic indices influenced PFS and OS, with a higher number of adverse factors resulting in shorter survival (P < 0·001). Complete response (CR) to treatment was associated with better PFS (62·6 vs. 4 months; P < 0·001) and longer OS (67·0 vs. 7·3 months; P < 0·001) compared to no CR. CD30 was expressed across all subtypes; >15% of cells were positive in anaplastic lymphoma kinase‐positive and ‐negative anaplastic large‐cell lymphoma and extranodal natural killer PTCL groups. We observed PTCL distribution across subtypes based on haematopathological re‐evaluation. Poor prognosis, effect of specific prognostic indices, relevance of histopathological sub‐classification, and response level to first‐line treatment on outcomes were confirmed. Immune disorders amongst patients require further examination involving genetic studies and identification of associated immunosuppressive factors.