bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Accurate Measurement of Raman Depolarization Ratio in Gaseous CO2
Authors: Jin Yu-juan , Yu Yuan-qin , Wang Yu-xi , Lin Ke , Zhou Xiao-guo , Liu Shi-lin
Published: March 2015

The Raman depolarization ratios of gaseous CO2 in the spectral range of 1240–1430 cm−1 are determined with a sensitive photoacoustic Raman spectroscopy, and more accurate data compared to the literature results are presented. The precision of the obtained depolarization ratio is achieved by measuring and fitting the dependence of the PARS signal intensity on the cross angle between the polarizations of two incident laser beams.
Benzene and Toluene Levels Measured with DOAS During Vehicular Restrictions in Beijing
Authors: Li Su-wen , Xie Pin-hua , Wei Min-hong , Wang Jiang-tao
Published: March 2015

Measurements of atmospheric benzene and toluene were carried out continuously using differential optical absorption spectroscopy from August 7 to August 28 in Beijing during the period of vehicular restrictions. The correlations between traffic flows and totals of benzene and toluene were studied during the period of vehicular traffic restrictions from August 17 to August 20 and non-traffic restrictions on August 16 and August 21. The correlation coefficient was 0.8 between benzene and toluene. And the calculated daily mean value ratios of benzene to toluene were 0.43–0.50. During the period of vehicular restrictions, traffic flows were reduced about 11.8% and the levels of benzene and toluene were reduced by 11.4% and 12.8%, respectively. The vehicle emissions were recognized as the major sources for atmospheric benzene and toluene in Beijing.
Antimicrobial Expanded Polytetrafluoroethylene Film Prepared by γ-ray Radiation Induced Grafting of Poly(acrylic acid)
Authors: Wang Yun-long , Wang Mo-zhen , Wu Qi-chao , Zhou Xiao , Ge Xue-wu
Published: March 2015

The simultaneous γ-ray-radiation-induced grafting polymerization of acrylic acid on expanded polytetrafluoroethylene (ePTFE) film was investigated. It was found that the degree of grafting (DG) of poly(acrylic acid) (PAA) can be controlled by the monomer concentration, absorbed dose, and dose rate under an optimal inhibitor concentration of [Fe2+]=18 mmol/L. SEM observation showed that the macroporous structure in ePTFE films would be covered gradually with the increase of the DG of PAA. The prepared ePTFE-g-PAA film was immersed in a neutral silver nitrate solution to fabricate an ePTFE-g-PAA/Ag hybrid film after the addition of NaBH4 as a reduction agent of Ag+ to Ag atom. SEM, XRD, and XPS results proved that Ag nanoparticles with a size of several tens of nanometers to 100 nanometers were in situ immobilized on ePTFE film. The loading capacity of Ag nanoparticles could be tuned by the DG of PAA, and determined by thermal gravimetric analysis. The quantitative antibacterial activity of the obtained ePTFE-g-PAA/Ag hybrid films was measured using counting plate method. It can kill all the Escherichia coli in the suspension in 1 h. Moreover, this excellent antibacterial activity can last at least for 4 h. This work provides a facile and practical way to make ePTFE meet the demanding antimicrobial requirement in more and more practical application areas.
The State of Exception and the Imperial Way of Life in the United States—Mexico Borderlands
Authors: Sundberg Juanita
Published: March 2015

This paper situates recent events in the US–Mexico borderlands in relation to modalities of power used in the expansion of US imperial hegemony. Specifically, I link acts of legal suspension to expedite construction of border barriers on the US southern border with genealogies of imperial dispossession and racial violence to build an argument about imperialism as a way of life in the US. In so doing, my goal is to support ongoing efforts to forge coalitions better able to contest legal suspension as a predominant technique of government.
Of Lobsters, Laboratories, and War: Animal Studies and the Temporality of More-Than-Human Encounters
Authors: Johnson Elizabeth R
Published: March 2015

For over two decades, geographers concerned with undoing what Judith Butler has referred to as ‘the conceit of anthropocentrism’ have brought animals in from the margins of thought. Geography's contributions to animal studies have been diverse, but a key consideration has been a retreat from thinking with animals toward a plural, more-than-human analysis. A recent privileging of ‘spaces of encounter’ with nonhuman others challenges the significance of animals altogether, equating them to other nonhuman entities—along with nonliving processes, the movement of molecules, viruses, forces, and affects that circulate and connect in ‘events’ and ‘sites’—on the terrain of ethical and political conflict. There is much at stake here in terms of how geographical methods are carried out and how response, analysis, and political action proceed. In what follows, I reflect on field notes from an ethnographic encounter with lobster experimentation in a neuroscience laboratory to contrast thinking ‘with animals' and ‘with encounters’. I assess the implications of each for transforming who and what we consider in ethical and political terms. I find that while the encounter moves beyond the limitations of more traditionally defined animal studies, a corresponding focus on the present loses sight of wider temporal and spatial relations—including the political economies—that are relevant to the elements in any encounter. Drawing on Boaventura de Sousa Santos and Astrid Schrader, I argue for a geography of the encounter that ‘expands the present’ rather than residing in it, with consequences for the ‘new materialism’ movement. In the case of the lobster experiment, this leads me to consider how scientific practices with animals are also immediately a part of ongoing trends in the US that ‘militarize’ biological life. In conclusion, I argue that concern for animals in the laboratory ought to expand to include concern for past and future political conditions of life, death, and the production of knowledge.
Embedding research culture and productivity in hospital physiotherapy departments: challenges and opportunities
Authors: Skinner Elizabeth H. , Williams Cylie M. , Haines Terry P.
Published: March 2015

Few studies have investigated research culture in the Australian hospital system. Although physiotherapists working in tertiary hospital departments conduct and publish research, a conflict between service delivery and research productivity remains. Few departments record research achievements, which limits the accuracy of investigating factors associated with research productivity within allied health. The conduct and translation of research within acute physiotherapy and allied health departments is imperative to improve patient health outcomes, optimise health service efficiency and cost-effectiveness and to improve staff and patient satisfaction and staff retention. Allied health departments should institute a research register and consider implementing other strategies to improve research culture and productivity, such as dedicating equivalent full-time staff to research, supporting staff with joint clinical and academic appointments, ensuring a research register is available and used and having events available for the dissemination of research. Future research should focus on improving research productivity within acute allied health departments to provide Level 1 and 2 evidence of service effectiveness and cost-effectiveness to optimise health care delivery and to maximise the benefit of allied health staff to Australia’s healthcare system.
Diaryliodonium Salts: Aryl Transfer Reagents for Alkyne Difunctionalization
Authors: Hartrampf Felix , Toombs-Ruane Henry
Published: March 2015

In recent years, hypervalent iodine reagents have emerged as powerful tools in synthesis. This highlight paper describes recent developments in the application of diaryliodonium salts for a variety of transformations. It is shown how the extremely electrophilic nature of these reagents can be exploited to difunctionalize alkynes in cascade reactions to access complex scaffolds.
Temperatures below leaf litter during winter prescribed burns: implications for litter-roosting bats
Authors: Perry Roger W. , McDaniel Virginia L.
Published: March 2015

Some bat species, including eastern red bats (Lasiurus borealis), roost for short periods beneath leaf litter on the forest floor during winter in the south-eastern USA, a region subjected to frequent fire. The variability in fuel consumption, the heterogeneous nature of burns, and the effects of litter and duff moisture on forest-floor temperatures during winter burning could influence potential survival for bats beneath the leaf litter if they are unable to escape on-coming flames. We measured temperatures below leaf litter in 64 south-slope plots during nine controlled burns in the Ouachita Mountains of Arkansas to determine the probability of survival. Maximum temperature recorded under leaf litter at each plot averaged 292°C (±20 s.e.) and ranged from 10 to 717°C. Only three (5%) of the plots experienced temperatures that were deemed survivable (<60°C sustained for 60 s) during burns on warmer winter days (air temperatures 15.0–26.1°C). Temperatures below the leaf litter measured just before the arrival of fire (average = 19.6°C) suggested that if bats were roosting in plots they would have been in shallow torpor, which would have enabled faster escape from approaching flames. Burning during the warmer periods of winter (e.g. ≥15°C) and during afternoons could potentially improve survival by bats roosting under leaf litter by reducing arousal and escape times.
Anglo-Iranian Treaty Negotiations: Reza Shah, Teymurtash and the British Government, 1927–32
Authors: Mueller Chelsi
Published: March 2015

From 1927 to 1932, wide-reaching negotiations took place between Reza Shah’s court minister, ‘Abdolhossein Khan Teymurtash, and the British Legation in Tehran, the aim of which was to resolve all outstanding issues and to normalize relations between the two countries on the basis of a general treaty. This article examines these Anglo-Iranian negotiations with a particular focus on the thorniest issues—Iran’s territorial claims in the Persian Gulf, particularly its claims to sovereignty over Bahrain, Abu Musa and the two Tunb islands. Though an agreement was never reached, an examination of the content and conduct of these negotiations offers some valuable insights into the unique features of Iranian nationalism and Iranian ambitions in the Persian Gulf during the Reza Shah period.
Reservoir Area of Influence and Implications for Fisheries Management
Authors: Martin Dustin R. , Chizinski Christopher J. , Pope Kevin L.
Published: March 2015

Understanding the spatial area that a reservoir draws anglers from, defined as the reservoir's area of influence, and the potential overlap of that area of influence between reservoirs is important for fishery managers. Our objective was to define the area of influence for reservoirs of the Salt Valley regional fishery in southeastern Nebraska using kernel density estimation. We used angler survey data obtained from in-person interviews at 17 reservoirs during 2009–2012. The area of influence, defined by the 95% kernel density, for reservoirs within the Salt Valley regional fishery varied, indicating that anglers use reservoirs differently across the regional fishery. Areas of influence reveal angler preferences in a regional context, indicating preferred reservoirs with a greater area of influence. Further, differences in areas of influences across time and among reservoirs can be used as an assessment following management changes on an individual reservoir or within a regional fishery. Kernel density estimation provided a clear method for creating spatial maps of areas of influence and provided a two-dimensional view of angler travel, as opposed to the traditional mean travel distance assessment.

Received April 15, 2014; accepted October 6, 2014
Activity of ERK regulates mucin 3 expression and is involved in undifferentiated Caco-2 cell death induced by 3-oxo-C12-homoserine lactone
Authors: Shimizu Hidehisa , Baba Nanako , Nose Takuma , Taguchi Ryoko , Tanaka Shinya , Joe Ga-Hyun , Maseda Hideaki , Nomura Nobuhiko , Hagio Masahito , Lee Ja-Young , Fukiya Satoru , Yokota Atsushi , Ishizuka Satoshi , Miyazaki Hitoshi
Published: March 2015

The signal molecule, 3-oxo-C12-homoserine lactone (3-oxo-C12-HSL), is similar to a mammalian hormone in bacteria. Although most studies have examined the effects of high 3-oxo-C12-HSL concentrations (>200 μM) on mammalian cellular functions because ~600 μM 3-oxo-C12-HSL can be secreted in biofilms of Pseudomonas aeruginosa grown in vitro, we previously showed that a low 3-oxo-C12-HSL concentration (30 μM) induces the apoptosis of undifferentiated Caco-2 cells through suppressing Akt activity. Here, we found that a low concentration of 3-oxo-C12-HSL-activated ERK1/2 in undifferentiated Caco-2 cells. Incubating cells with the ERK pathway inhibitor U0126 for 30 min alleviated the mucin 3 (MUC3) expression suppressed by 3-oxo-C12-HSL, and the upregulation of MUC3 expression induced by a 48-h incubation with U0126-reduced cell death. Thus, altered MUC3 expression caused by long-term attenuated ERK1/2 activity might correlate with the death of undifferentiated Caco-2 cells induced by 3-oxo-C12-HSL.
A short guide to technology development in cell biology
Authors: van Steensel Bas
Published: March 2015

New technologies drive progress in many research fields, including cell biology. Much of technological innovation comes from “bottom-up” efforts by individual students and postdocs. However, technology development can be challenging, and a successful outcome depends on many factors. This article outlines some considerations that are important when embarking on a technology development project. Despite the challenges, developing a new technology can be extremely rewarding and could lead to a lasting impact in a given field.
Johanna Ivaska: Finding opposing forces in integrins
Authors: Powell Kendall
Published: March 2015

Ivaska has taken the road less traveled to show how integrin inactivation regulates cell migration and invasion.
Hecke modules and supersingular representations of U(2,1)
Authors: Kozioł Karol , Xu Peng
Published: March 2015

Let

F
F

be a nonarchimedean local field of odd residual characteristic

p
p

. We classify finite-dimensional simple right modules for the pro-

p
p

-Iwahori-Hecke algebra

H

C

(
G
,
I
(
1
)
)

\mathcal {H}_C(G,I(1))

, where

G
G

is the unramified unitary group

U

(
2
,
1
)
(
E

/

F
)

\textrm {U}(2,1)(E/F)

in three variables. Using this description when

C
=

F

¯

p

C = \overline {\mathbb {F}}_p

, we define supersingular Hecke modules and show that the functor of

I
(
1
)

I(1)

-invariants induces a bijection between irreducible nonsupersingular mod-

p
p

representations of

G
G

and nonsupersingular simple right

H

C

(
G
,
I
(
1
)
)

\mathcal {H}_C(G,I(1))

-modules. We then use an argument of Paškūnas to construct supersingular representations of

G
G

.
Introduction
Authors: Lloyd Alan B.
Published: March 2015

This book attempts to define, analyse, and evaluate the institutional and ideological systems that empowered and sustained one of the most successful civilizations of the ancient world for a period in excess of three and a half millennia. The main chapters are concerned with the definition and analysis of what seem to be the main aspects of Egyptian culture that gave it its particular character and allowed the Egyptians to maintain that character for an extraordinary length of time and through different kinds of cultural shocks.
The Historical Context
Authors: Lloyd Alan B.
Published: March 2015

This chapter presents a conspectus of Egyptian prehistory and history down to the Roman Period. It emphasizes that the evolution of proto-Egyptian society and civilization developed with increasing momentum during the Prehistoric Period until the latter half of the fourth millennium, when it took a major leap forward under the influence of three major conurbations: first Naqada, whose culture swept all before it to dominate the entire country; then Hierakonpolis, which played a critical role in developing the ideology of Egyptian kingship; and finally Abydos which, in association with Hierakonpolis, laid the foundations for the Pharaonic Egyptian state.
Violence and the State
Authors: Lloyd Alan B.
Published: March 2015

This chapter examines the role of violence in the state system. The Egyptian state was created through violence and maintained ultimately by the veiled threat or physical application of force. Institutionalized force was conceptualized and activated within the Egyptian state essentially in two ways, i.e. policing and the theory and practice of war. The chapter focuses on the latter. It discusses the standard motives for military operations: ideology, self-defence, and economic motivation; the methodology of war; and the instruments of war.
The Dialogue with Environment
Authors: Lloyd Alan B.
Published: March 2015

This chapter examines how the ancient Egyptians efficiently exploited their physical environment to meet their economic requirements, extracting the maximum benefit from it and circumventing whatever deficiencies it presented. It discusses nutritional resources; acquisition of raw materials; the institutional infrastructure for production and distribution; and the communication network.
Affirmation of a Conceptual World
Authors: Lloyd Alan B.
Published: March 2015

Like all societies, the postulates on which Egyptian civilization was based required continual restatement and reassertion in order to retain their validity in the eyes of society. This chapter discusses three major areas in which this process is particularly at issue: ceremonies, text, and visual media.
Freedmen’s Hospitals
Authors: Downs Jim
Published: March 2015

This chapter focuses on the bureaucracy and administrative hierarchy of the Medical Division of the Freedmen’s Bureau as well as Freedmen’s Hospitals, which were modeled on nineteenth-century asylums in the North. These hospitals were makeshift institutions that provided access to basic necessities, such as shelter, clothing, and food, after the Civil War. The chapter shows that Freedmen’s Hospitals were not systematically constructed throughout the South, and instead often established in response to a specific medical emergency. It also considers how the arrival of former slaves in almshouses and hospitals called into question the practices of these humanitarian institutions. Finally, it discusses the problem of medical care faced by the Bureau with respect to tending for freedpeople.
The Healing Power of Labor
Authors: Downs Jim
Published: March 2015

This chapter focuses on the population of former slaves who were most affected by the outbreak of sickness and disease after the Civil War and underscores the relationship between freedpeople’s economic status and their health conditions. It shows that the abrupt and often chaotic organization of the labor force excluded women, the elderly, the physically disabled, and children from opportunities to participate in the burgeoning labor economy in the postwar South. It also examines the impact of the war on cotton cultivation, which was then exacerbated by a crop failure in 1866–1867 that led to a widespread famine.
Conclusion
Authors: Downs Jim
Published: March 2015

This book has illuminated the various economic, political, social, and medical forces that accounted for the sickness, disease, and death suffered by hundreds of thousands of African Americans following their emancipation from slavery during and after the Civil War. It shows how a plague of lethal diseases such as measles, fever, smallpox, pneumonia, and diphtheria led to the largest biological crisis of the nineteenth century that brought untold misery and suffering to countless freedpeople. The book also highlights the important themes in the history of the Civil War and Reconstruction that came to the fore, from the infighting among the medical community to the unpreparedness of authorities and others for the massive liberation of enslaved people, how society should be reorganized in terms of public health, and the provision of federal health care for freed slaves.
Phytosulfokine Is Involved in Positive Regulation of Lotus japonicus Nodulation
Authors: Wang Chao , Yu Haixiang , Zhang Zhongming , Yu Liangliang , Xu Xiaoshu , Hong Zonglie , Luo Li
Published: March 2015

Phytosulfokine (PSK) is a tyrosine-sulfated peptide that is widely distributed in plants, participating in cell proliferation, differentiation, and innate immunity. The potential role of PSK in nodulation in legumes has not been reported. In this work, five PSK precursor genes were identified in Lotus japonicas, designated as LjPSK1 to LjPSK5. Three of them (LjPSK1, LjPSK4, and LjPSK5) were found to be expressed in nitrogen-fixing root nodules. LjPSK1 and LjPSK4 were not induced at the early stage of nodulation. Interestingly, while the expression of LjPSK4 was also found in spontaneous nodules without rhizobial colonization, LjPSK1 was not induced in these pseudo nodules. Promoter-β-glucuronidase analysis revealed that LjPSK1 was highly expressed in enlarged symbiotic cells of nodules. Exogenous addition of 1 μM synthetic PSK peptide resulted in increased nodule numbers per plant. Consistently, the number of mature nodules but not the events of rhizobial infection and nodule initiation was increased by overexpressing LjPSK1 in transgenic hairy roots, in which the expression of jasmonate-responsive genes was found to be repressed. These results suggest that PSK is a new peptide signal that regulates nodulation in legumes, probably through cross-talking with other phytohormones.
Characterization of Cell-Death-Inducing Members of the Pectate Lyase Gene Family in Phytophthora capsici and Their Contributions to Infection of Pepper
Authors: Fu Li , Zhu Chunyuan , Ding Xiaomeng , Yang Xiaoyan , Morris Paul F. , Tyler Brett M. , Zhang Xiuguo
Published: March 2015

Pectate lyases (PL) play a critical role in pectin degradation. PL have been extensively studied in major bacterial and fungal pathogens of a wide range of plant species. However, the contribution of PL to infection by oomycete pathogens remains largely unknown. Here, we cloned 22 full-length pectate lyase (PcPL) genes from a highly aggressive strain of Phytophthora capsici SD33. Of these, PVX agroinfiltration revealed that 12 PcPL genes were found to be highly induced during infection of pepper by SD33 but the induction level was twofold less in a mildly aggressive strain, YN07. The four genes with the highest transcript levels as measured by by quantitative reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction (PcPL1, PcPL15, PcPL16, and PcPL20) also produced a severe cell death response following transient expression in pepper leaves but the other eight PcPL genes did not. Overexpression of these four genes increased the virulence of SD33 on pepper slightly, and increased it more substantially during infection of tobacco. Overexpression of the genes in YN07 restored its aggressiveness to near that of SD33. Gene silencing experiments with the 12 PcPL genes produced diverse patterns of silencing of PcPL genes, from which it could be inferred from regression analysis that PcPL1, PcPL16, and PcPL20 could account for nearly all of the contributions of the PcPL genes to virulence.
Detection of a New Luteovirus in Imported Nectarine Trees: A Case Study to Propose Adoption of Metagenomics in Post-Entry Quarantine
Authors: Bag Sudeep , Al Rwahnih Maher , Li Ashley , Gonzalez Asaul , Rowhani Adib , Uyemoto Jerry K. , Sudarshana Mysore R.
Published: March 2015

In spring 2013, 5-year-old nectarine (Prunus persica) trees, grafted on peach rootstock Nemaguard, were found stunted in a propagation block in California. These trees had been propagated from budwood of three nectarine cultivars imported from France and cleared through the post-entry quarantine procedure. Examination of the canopy failed to reveal any obvious symptoms. However, examination of the trunks, after stripping the bark, revealed extensive pitting on the woody cylinder. To investigate the etiological agent, double-stranded RNA was extracted from bark scrapings from the scion and rootstock portions, and a cDNA library was prepared and sequenced using the Illumina platform. BLAST analysis of the contigs generated by the de novo assembly of sequence reads indicated the presence of a novel luteovirus. Complete sequence of the viral genome was determined by sequencing of three overlapping cDNA clones generated by reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and by rapid amplification of the 5′- and 3′-termini. The virus genome was comprised of 4,991 nucleotides with a gene organization similar to members of the genus Luteovirus (family Luteoviridae). The presence of the virus, tentatively named Nectarine stem pitting-associated virus, was confirmed in symptomatic trees by RT-PCR. Discovery of a new virus in nectarine trees after post-entry quarantine indicates the importance of including (i) metagenomic analysis by next-generation sequencing approach as an essential tool to assess the plant health status, and (ii) examination of the woody cylinders as part of the indexing process.
Role Bending: Complex Relationships Between Viruses, Hosts, and Vectors Related to Citrus Leprosis, an Emerging Disease
Authors: Roy Avijit , Hartung John S. , Schneider William L. , Shao Jonathan , Leon Guillermo , Melzer Michael J. , Beard Jennifer J. , Otero-Colina Gabriel , Bauchan Gary R. , Ochoa Ronald , Brlansky Ronald H.
Published: March 2015

Citrus leprosis complex is an emerging disease in the Americas, associated with two unrelated taxa of viruses distributed in South, Central, and North America. The cytoplasmic viruses are Citrus leprosis virus C (CiLV-C), Citrus leprosis virus C2 (CiLV-C2), and Hibiscus green spot virus 2, and the nuclear viruses are Citrus leprosis virus N (CiLV-N) and Citrus necrotic spot virus. These viruses cause local lesion infections in all known hosts, with no natural systemic host identified to date. All leprosis viruses were believed to be transmitted by one species of mite, Brevipalpus phoenicis. However, mites collected from CiLV-C and CiLV-N infected citrus groves in Mexico were identified as B. yothersi and B. californicus sensu lato, respectively, and only B. yothersi was detected from CiLV-C2 and CiLV-N mixed infections in the Orinoco regions of Colombia. Phylogenetic analysis of the helicase, RNA-dependent RNA polymerase 2 domains and p24 gene amino acid sequences of cytoplasmic leprosis viruses showed a close relationship with recently deposited mosquito-borne negevirus sequences. Here, we present evidence that both cytoplasmic and nuclear viruses seem to replicate in viruliferous Brevipalpus species. The possible replication in the mite vector and the close relationship with mosquito borne negeviruses are consistent with the concept that members of the genus Cilevirus and Higrevirus originated in mites and citrus may play the role of mite virus vector.
Efficient strategies for calculating blockwise likelihoods under the coalescent
Authors: Lohse Konrad , Chmelik Martin , Martin Simon H. , Barton Nicholas H.
Published: March 2015

The inference of demographic history from genome data is hindered by a lack of efficient computational approaches. In particular, it has proven difficult to exploit the information contained in the distribution of genealogies across the genome. We have previously shown that the generating function (GF) of genealogies can be used to analytically compute likelihoods of demographic models from configurations of mutations in short sequence blocks (Lohseet al.,2011). Although the GF has a simple, recursive form, the size of such likelihood computations explodes quickly with the number of individuals and applications of this framework have so far been limited to small samples (pairs and triplets) for which the GF can be written down by hand. Here we investigate several strategies for exploiting the inherent symmetries of the coalescent. In particular, we show that the GF of genealogies can be decomposed into a set of equivalence classes which allows likelihood calculations from non-trivial samples. Using this strategy, we usedMathematicato automate block-wise likelihood calculations based on the GF for a very general set of demographic scenarios that may involve population size changes, continuous migration, discrete divergence and admixture between multiple populations. To give a concrete example, we calculate the likelihood for a model of isolation with migration (IM), assuming two diploid samples without phase and outgroup information, and compare the power of our approach to that of minimal pairwise samples. We demonstrate the new inference scheme with an analysis of two individual butterfly genomes from the sister speciesHeliconius melpomene rosinaandHeliconius cyndo.
On the use of rhetoric in promoting enterprise resource planning systems
Authors: Lepistö Lauri
Published: March 2015

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to improve the understanding of the rhetoric used to promote enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems, which are complex organisation-wide software packages inherently connected to the domains of management and organisation.

Design/methodology/approach

– The study adopts a post-essentialist view on ERP systems and takes the form of a rhetorical analysis. Engaging in rhetorical scholarship in the area of technological change and management fashion literatures, this paper offers a close reading of a management text on ERP systems by Thomas H. Davenport published in 1998 in theHarvard Business Review.

Findings

– The rhetorical analysis distinguishes and identifies three rhetorical strategies – namely, rationalisation, theorisation and contradiction – used to promote ERP systems and thus involved in the construction of the phenomenon revolving around ERP systems.

Originality/value

– In spite of the importance of the rhetorical analysis of information technology in the context in which they operate, this paper argues that constructions of ERP systems should also be analysed beyond organisation-specific considerations. It further suggests that both researchers and practitioners should take seriously the rhetoric invoked by the well-known management writer that may easily go unnoticed.
Enabling innovation and creativity in market-oriented firms
Authors: Božic Ljiljana , Ozretic-Došen Ðurdana
Published: March 2015

Purpose

– The relationship between market orientation and innovation has been the subject of numerous studies. While some find positive effects, the others argue negative effects of market orientation (or its components). The majority of the critique regards mostly its potential to limit creativity and the technological breakthrough. Concerns over its benefits for commercialization of an innovation are less pronounced. The purpose of this paper is to address the implementation of market orientation in new product development activities and seek to find if they follow different patterns or whether the whole concept is applied equally in successful innovating firms.

Design/methodology/approach

– The study relies on qualitative methodology. Findings are based on seven case studies. Cases are selected according to theoretical sampling. In order to collect the data the authors employ interviews.

Findings

– The research findings support the assumption that the general principles of customer and competitor orientation are subject to different manifestations. However, no forms of interfunctional orientation have been identified.

Originality/value

– The findings of the study can help us to understand how market oriented firms establish a suitable setting for creativity and innovation and enable innovation development.
Head nurses’ decision-making when managing ethical dilemmas
Authors: Zydziunaite Vilma , Lepaite Daiva , Åstedt-Kurki Päivi , Suominen Tarja
Published: March 2015

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to characterize issues related to head nurses’ decision making when managing ethical dilemmas.

Design/methodology/approach

– The study is qualitative descriptive, in which researchers stay close to the data. The data were collected in the format of unstructured written reflections. Inductive conventional latent qualitative content analysis was applied to the data.

Findings

– The issues of head nurses’ management of decision making in ethical dilemmas relate to the following aspects: taking risks in deviating from the formalities, balancing power and humaneness, maintaining the professional hierarchy, managing resistance to change, managing with limited options, and experiencing the decline of nurse’s professional and/or human dignity.

Research limitations/implications

– Reflections in written form were preferred to semi-structured interviews and the researchers were unable to contact the participants directly and to ask additional questions. All the reflections were produced in a language other than English.

Practical implications

– The issues of head nurses’ management of decision making in ethical dilemmas reveal the gap between societal expectations and the opportunities to improve nursing leadership in health care organizations.

Social implications

– The issues of head nurses’ decision making when managing ethical dilemmas are related to contexts that reflect the attitudes of society and health care system toward nursing management.

Originality/value

– The study adds to the understanding of issues of the management of decision making in ethical dilemmas. It is an ongoing systematic process that encourages head nurses to learn from practice and manage the quality of care by empowering themselves and nurses to take responsibility for leadership.
Social media usage in hotel human resources: recruitment, hiring and communication
Authors: Gibbs Chris , MacDonald Fraser , MacKay Kelly
Published: March 2015

Purpose

– The purpose of this study is to explore the use and non-use of social media (SM) by North American hotels for human resource (HR) activities.

Design/methodology/approach

– This exploratory study used an online survey and a sampling frame of 1,711 North American hotels with 300 or more rooms, excluding economy properties. With a response rate of 17.1 per cent and a defined population, data were weighted to reflect the midscale, upscale and luxury market classes.

Findings

– Slightly more than half of North American hotels use SM for HR activities. Higher service level hotels are related to SM HR use generally; midscale properties report higher usage for internal communication. Use of SM in hotel HR is more focused on marketing versus recruitment activities.

Research limitations/implications

– The generalizability and, therefore, implications are limited to North American hotels, midscale or higher with 300 or more rooms. Future research should complement this broad-based study by delving more deeply into rationale for HR communication over hiring functions for SM and its overall adoption for HR in the hospitality industry.

Practical implications

– This study provides an understanding of how SM is being used and its perceived usefulness across a variety of HR activities. The findings will inform the application of SM for hotel HR purposes.

Originality/value

– This is the first empirical study about SM and HR practices in the North American hotel industry.
Greedy particle swarm and biogeography-based optimization algorithm
Authors: Ababneh Jehad
Published: March 2015

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to propose an algorithm that combines the particle swarm optimization (PSO) with the biogeography-based optimization (BBO) algorithm.

Design/methodology/approach

– The BBO and the PSO algorithms are jointly used in to order to combine the advantages of both algorithms. The efficiency of the proposed algorithm is tested using some selected standard benchmark functions. The performance of the proposed algorithm is compared with that of the differential evolutionary (DE), genetic algorithm (GA), PSO, BBO, blended BBO and hybrid BBO-DE algorithms.

Findings

– Experimental results indicate that the proposed algorithm outperforms the BBO, PSO, DE, GA, and the blended BBO algorithms and has comparable performance to that of the hybrid BBO-DE algorithm. However, the proposed algorithm is simpler than the BBO-DE algorithm since the PSO does not have complex operations such as mutation and crossover used in the DE algorithm.

Originality/value

– The proposed algorithm is a generic algorithm that can be used to efficiently solve optimization problems similar to that solved using other popular evolutionary algorithms but with better performance.
A novel global harmony search method based off-line tuning of RFNN for adaptive control of uncertain nonlinear systems
Authors: Allouani Fouad , Boukhetala Djamel , Boudjema Fares , Xiao-Zhi Gao
Published: March 2015

Purpose

– The two main purposes of this paper are: first, the development of a new optimization algorithm called GHSACO by incorporating the global-best harmony search (GHS) which is a stochastic optimization algorithm recently developed, with the ant colony optimization (ACO) algorithm. Second, design of a new indirect adaptive recurrent fuzzy-neural controller (IARFNNC) for uncertain nonlinear systems using the developed optimization method (GHSACO) and the concept of the supervisory controller.

Design/methodology/approach

– The novel optimization method introduces a novel improvization process, which is different from that of the GHS in the following aspects: a modified harmony memory representation and conception. The use of a global random switching mechanism to monitor the choice between the ACO and GHS. An additional memory consideration selection rule using the ACO random proportional transition rule with a pheromone trail update mechanism. The developed optimization method is applied for parametric optimization of all recurrent fuzzy neural networks adaptive controller parameters. In addition, in order to guarantee that the system states are confined to the safe region, a supervisory controller is incorporated into the IARFNNC global structure.

Findings

– First, to analyze the performance of GHSACO method and shows its effectiveness, some benchmark functions with different dimensions are used. Simulation results demonstrate that it can find significantly better solutions when compared with the Harmony Search (HS), GHS, improved HS (IHS) and conventional ACO algorithm. In addition, simulation results obtained using an example of nonlinear system shows clearly the feasibility and the applicability of the proposed control method and the superiority of the GHSACO method compared to the HS, its variants, particle swarm optimization, and genetic algorithms applied to the same problem.

Originality/value

– The proposed new GHS algorithm is more efficient than the original HS method and its most known variants IHS and GHS. The proposed control method is applicable to any uncertain nonlinear system belongs in the class of systems treated in this paper.
Simultaneous knowledge-based identification and optimization of PHEV fuel economy using hyper-level Pareto-based chaotic Lamarckian immune algorithm, MSBA and fuzzy programming
Authors: Mozaffari Ahmad , Azad Nasser L. , Fathi Alireza
Published: March 2015

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to probe the potentials of computational intelligence (CI) and bio-inspired computational tools for designing a hybrid framework which can simultaneously design an identifier to capture the underlying knowledge regarding a given plug-in hybrid electric vehicle’s (PHEVs) fuel cost and optimize its fuel consumption rate. Besides, the current investigation aims at elaborating the effectiveness of Pareto-based multiobjective programming for coping with the difficulties associated with such a tedious automotive engineering problem.

Design/methodology/approach

– The hybrid intelligent tool is implemented in two different levels. The hyper-level algorithm is a Pareto-based memetic algorithm, known as the chaos-enhanced Lamarckian immune algorithm (CLIA), with three different objective functions. As a hyper-level supervisor, CLIA tries to design a fast and accurate identifier which, at the same time, can handle the effects of uncertainty as well as use this identifier to find the optimum design parameters of PHEV for improving the fuel economy.

Findings

– Based on the conducted numerical simulations, a set of interesting points are inferred. First, it is observed that CI techniques provide us with a comprehensive tool capable of simultaneous identification/optimization of the PHEV operating features. It is concluded that considering fuzzy polynomial programming enables us to not only design a proper identifier but also helps us capturing the undesired effects of uncertainty and measurement noises associated with the collected database.

Originality/value

– To the best knowledge of the authors, this is the first attempt at implementing a comprehensive hybrid intelligent tool which can use a set of experimental data representing the behavior of PHEVs as the input and yields the optimized values of PHEV design parameters as the output.
An empirical investigation to determine patient satisfaction factors at tertiary care hospitals in India
Authors: Naik J Rama Krishna , Anand Byram , Bashir Irfan
Published: March 2015

Purpose

– The purpose of this study is to investigate and test a six-factor model that explains considerable variation in patient satisfaction with tertiary care hospitals in India.

Design/methodology/approach

– The data of this study were collected through a systematic randomly distributed questionnaire. A pre-tested and contextually prepared structured questionnaire was used to gather 436 responses from selected tertiary care hospitals located in Hyderabad. Descriptive statistics, confirmatory factor analysis and Cronbach’s alpha are used to measure the internal consistency of the scale using the computer software SPSS 20.0.

Findings

– The findings of this study highlight six distinct dimensions of patient satisfaction and the relationships among them. Positive and significant relationships among the dimensions and patient satisfaction have been found.

Research limitations/implications

– One limitation to this study was the inclusion of the selected tertiary care hospitals in Hyderabad city and responses are collected from inpatients who were admitted in the surgical departments of these hospitals.

Practical implications

– This instrument would enable patients to provide feedback to hospitals regarding the quality of health care received by them. Hospitals could use this feedback to analyze their performance, satisfaction and benchmark their performance against competitive hospitals. This study has directs implications for health care service providers to provide quality of services to patients, to maintain high level of patient’s satisfaction and re-intentions.

Originality/value

– Few studies identified and examined the factors that influence patient’s perceived satisfaction. This study adds value by investigating what factors influences patient satisfaction among selected tertiary care hospitals located in Hyderabad.
Customer aggression, felt anger and emotional deviance: the moderating role of job autonomy
Authors: Goussinsky Ruhama
Published: March 2015

Purpose

– The purpose of this study is to examine whether emotional deviance in response to customer aggression and employees’ feelings of anger is likely to be influenced by perceived job autonomy. To date, studies on emotional labor have focused primarily on emotional regulation strategies. Little is known about the factors that may serve to increase emotional deviance (i.e. situations in which felt and expressed emotions match but are at odds with organizational display rules).

Design/methodology/approach

– Three samples of service workers were recruited from northern Israel, and data were collected using self-reported questionnaires. Research hypotheses were tested using hierarchical regression analyses.

Findings

– Study 1 revealed that under conditions of frequent exposure to customer aggression, more perceived job autonomy was associated with more frequent instances of emotional deviance. The results of Study 2 and Study 3 demonstrated that the relationship between anger and emotional deviance was stronger for employees reporting high levels of perceived job autonomy.

Practical implications

– Given the potentially negative impact of emotional deviance on customer satisfaction, organizations should find a balance between satisfying employees’ desire for control and discretion and ensuring employee compliance with display rules.

Originality/value

– This study contributes to the existing literature by pointing out that job autonomy may have a “dark side”, in the sense that it provides employees with a certain level of perceived freedom, which might then be extended to include freedom from rule compliance, especially when negative emotions are experienced.
Characteristic properties of AlTiN and TiN coated HSS materials
Authors: Sahin Mumin , Misirli Cenk , Özkan Dervis
Published: March 2015

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to examine mechanical and metallurgical properties of AlTiN- and TiN-coates high-speed steel (HSS) materials in detail.

Design/methodology/approach

– In this study, HSS steel parts have been processed through machining and have been coated with AlTiN and TiN on physical vapour deposition workbench at approximately 6,500°C for 4 hours. Tensile strength, fatigue strength, hardness tests for AlTiN- and TiN-coated HSS samples have been performed; moreover, energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction analysis and microstructure analysis have been made by scanning electron microscopy. The obtained results have been compared with uncoated HSS components.

Findings

– It was found that tensile strength of TiAlN- and TiN-coated HSS parts is higher than that of uncoated HSS parts. Highest tensile strength has been obtained from TiN-coated HSS parts. Number of cycles for failure of TiAlN- and TiN-coated HSS parts is higher than that for HSS parts. Particularly TiN-coated HSS parts have the most valuable fatigue results. However, surface roughness of fatigue samples may cause notch effect. For this reason, surface roughness of coated HSS parts is compared with that of uncoated ones. While the average surface roughness (Ra) of the uncoated samples was in the range of 0.40 μm, that of the AlTiN- and TiN-coated samples was in the range of 0.60 and 0.80 μm, respectively.

Research limitations/implications

– It would be interesting to search different coatings for cutting tools. It could be the good idea for future work to concentrate on wear properties of tool materials.

Practical implications

– The detailed mechanical and metallurgical results can be used to assess the AlTiN and TiN coating applications in HSS materials.

Originality/value

– This paper provides information on mechanical and metallurgical behaviour of AlTiN- and TiN-coated HSS materials and offers practical help for researchers and scientists working in the coating area.