bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
A financial engineering approach to pricing agricultural insurances
Authors: Assa Hirbod
Published: May 2015

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to introduce a continuous time version of the speculative storage model of Deaton and Laroque (1992) and to use for pricing derivatives, in particular insurances on agricultural prices.

Design/methodology/approach

– The methodology of financial engineering is used in order to find the partial differential equations that the dynamics of derivative prices have to satisfy. Furthermore, by using the Monte-Carlo method (and Feynman-Kac theorem) the insurance prices is computed.

Findings

– Results of this paper show that insurance prices (and derivative prices in general) are heavily influenced by market structure, in particular, the demand function specifications. Furthermore, through an empirical analysis, the performance of the continuous time speculative storage model is compared with the geometric Brownian motion model. It is shown that the speculative storage model outperforms the actual data.

Practical implications

– Since the agricultural insurances in many countries are subsidised by government, the results of this paper can be used by policy makers to measure changes in agricultural insurance premiums in scenarios that market experiences changes in demand. In the same manner, insurance companies and investors can use the results of this paper to better price agricultural derivatives.

Originality/value

– The issue of agricultural insurance pricing (in general derivative pricing) is of great concern to policy makers, investors and insurance companies. To the author’s knowledge, an approach which uses the methodology of financial engineering to compute the insurance prices (in general derivatives) is new within the literature.
$25 spring wheat was a bubble, right?
Authors: Etienne Xiaoli Liao , Irwin Scott H. , Garcia Philip
Published: May 2015

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to test for bubbles in the US hard red spring (HRS) wheat market from 2004 to 2014, with particular focus on 2007-2008 when the market experienced record-high price volatility.

Design/methodology/approach

– The authors apply a recently developed bubble testing procedure to cash, rolling nearby futures contract, and individual futures contract prices of HRS wheat sampled at daily, weekly, and monthly frequencies. Two critical value (CV) sequences are derived to date-stamp bubbles, one from Monte Carlo simulations, and the other from recursive wild bootstrap procedure.

Findings

– The authors find that regardless of the price series adopted, sampling frequency chosen, or CVs used, bubbles account for only a small fraction of the HRS wheat price behavior during 2004-2014. However, much sharper differences are detected regarding the key policy question of bubble behavior during 2007-2008. Individual futures contract prices during this period suggest only a minimal number of bubble days, while rolling nearby futures and cash prices indicate bubbles lasting much longer. Since theory suggests that prices for individual futures contracts are more likely to provide a clearer test of bubble components, the authors conclude there is little evidence that the spike in spring wheat prices to $25 per bushel in 2007-2008 was a bubble.

Originality/value

– This paper is the first in the literature to examine the sensitivity of bubble testing to different types of data, sampling frequencies, and inference procedures.
Meso-level weather index insurance
Authors: Weber Ron , Fecke Wilm , Moeller Imke , Musshoff Oliver
Published: May 2015

Purpose

– Using cotton yield, and rainfall data from Tajikistan, the purpose of this paper is to investigate the magnitude of weather induced revenue losses in cotton production. Hereby the authors look at different risk aggregation levels across political regions (meso-level). The authors then design weather index insurance products able to compensate revenue losses identified and analyze their risk reduction potential.

Design/methodology/approach

– The authors design different weather insurance products based on put-options on a cumulated precipitation index. The insurance products are modeled for different inter-regional and intra-regional risk aggregation and risk coverage scenarios. In this attempt the authors deal with the common problem of developing countries in which yield data is often only available on an aggregate level, and weather data is only accessible for a low number of weather stations.

Findings

– The authors find that it is feasible to design index-based weather insurance products on the meso-level with a considerable risk reduction potential against weather-induced revenue losses in cotton production. Furthermore, the authors find that risk reduction potential increases on the national level the more subregions are considered for the insurance product design. Moreover, risk reduction potential increases if the index insurance product applied is designed to compensate extreme weather events.

Practical implications

– The findings suggest that index-based weather insurance products bear a large risk mitigation potential on an aggregate level. Hence, meso-level insurance should be recognized by institutions with a regional exposure to cost-related weather risks as part of their risk-management strategy.

Originality/value

– The authors are the first to investigate the potential of weather index insurance for different risk aggregation levels in developing countries.
“Why can’t they be in the community?” A policy and practice analysis of transforming care for offenders with intellectual disability
Authors: Alexander Regi , Devapriam John , Michael Dasari , McCarthy Jane , Chester Verity , Rai Rahul , Naseem Aezad , Roy Ashok
Published: May 2015

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to describe key policy and practice issues regarding a significant subgroup of people with intellectual disability – those with offending behaviour being treated in forensic hospitals.

Design/methodology/approach

– The reasons why psychiatrists continue to be involved in the treatment of people with intellectual disability and mental health or behavioural problems and the factors that may lead to patients needing hospital admission are examined. Using two illustrative examples, three key questions – containment vs treatment, hospital care vs conditional discharge and hospital treatment vs using deprivation of liberty safeguards usage in the community are explored.

Findings

– Patients with intellectual disability, mental health problems and offending behaviours who are treated within forensic inpatient units tend to have long lengths of stay. The key variable that mediates this length of stay is the risk that they pose to themselves or others. Clinicians work within the framework of mental health law and have to be mindful that pragmatic solutions to hasten discharge into the community may not fall within the law.

Originality/value

– This paper makes practical suggestions for the future on how to best integrate hospital and community care for people with intellectual disability, mental health and offending behaviours.
Therapeutic communities for people with intellectual disability and complex needs
Authors: Taylor Jon , Crowther Simon , Bryant Christian
Published: May 2015

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to describe the use and value of therapeutic communties (TCs) in services for people with intellectual disabilities (IDs) and complex needs.

Design/methodology/approach

– A structured literature review of TC in ID services.

Findings

– TCs have been used in a range of in-patient services for people with IDs. Although outcome studies are scarce, those that exist offer promising indications of such service designs.

Originality/value

– TCs have seen a recent increase of interest in ID services. This paper provides an overview of these services and outlines the benefits that such a residential culture can offer for both service users and staff members.
Outcomes from the National High Secure Learning Disability Service: findings and challenges
Authors: Morrissey Catrin , Hobson Ben , Faulkner Emma , James Tamsin
Published: May 2015

Purpose

– The “outcomes revolution” in healthcare has yet to impact strongly on secure intellectual disability (ID) services in the UK. The purpose of this paper is to review the service-level outcome studies that exist for this population, and to explore some of the challenges of conducting such research. It further describes some illustrative routine outcome data from the National High Secure Learning Disability Service.

Design/methodology/approach

– Routinely collected outcome measures (length of stay; violent incidents; Emotional Problem Scale (EPS) Behaviour Rating Scale and EPS Self-Report Inventory) were analysed for two overlapping cohorts of patients resident in the high-secure service between 2008 and 2013.

Findings

– The median length of stay of those discharged during the study period (n=27) was around 9.9 years (range one to 40 years). A significant proportion (25 per cent) of discharges resulted in an eventual return to high security. There did not appear to be a treatment effect over two to three years using staff-rated global clinical measures, but patient-rated clinical measures did reduce. Violent incidents also reduced significantly over a longer period of four years in treatment.

Research limitations/implications

– There are identified challenges to research design and outcome measurement which need to be addressed in any future cross-service studies.

Originality/value

– There are relatively few published outcome studies from forensic ID services. None of the studies have used clinical measures of changes or patient-rated outcome measures.
A five decade retrospective review of admission trends in a NHS intellectual disability hospital
Authors: Wong Yim Lun , Bhutia Rinzi , Tayar Khalodoun , Roy Ashok
Published: May 2015

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to examine the trend of admissions and inpatient characteristics in a NHS intellectual disability hospital from 1975 to 2013, in particular looking at the effect following the Winterbourne View scandal.

Design/methodology/approach

– A retrospective review of all admissions over a three-year period (January 2011-January 2013) was completed. This information was compared with admissions to the same hospital in three-year period over the last four decades (1975-1977, 1985-1987, 1995-1997, and 2003-2006). Number of admissions, gender, age, source of admission, length of stay, reasons for admission, type of admission, and diagnosis of psychiatric illnesses were included.

Findings

– There were 87 admissions (including 29 from out of area) in the study period of 2011-2013. The number of admissions had varied over the years but male admissions were consistently higher than female. A majority of people stayed over six months. For the first time in five decades, there were more formal inpatients than informal ones. The diagnosis of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder had increased.

Originality/value

– This study has examined admission trends over five decades. It has highlighted that the Mental Health Act legislation is being used more frequently and that co-morbid mental disorders, such as ASD are commonly associated with those admitted to hospital. A well planned-out community health care system, as well as adequate social provision are keys to maintain people with intellectual disability in the community. Furthermore, a better understanding of the symptomology of challenging behaviours, and appropriate use of mental health legislation are crucial in providing a high-quality service that has clear treatment goals and values. Some of these issues have contributed to the failure of the recent initiative to reduce the size of the inpatient intellectual disability following Winterbourne View scandal.
The effects of conflict on risk perception and travelling intention of young tourists
Authors: Desivilya Helena , Teitler-Regev Sharon , Shahrabani Shosh
Published: May 2015

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to compare the evaluations of various risks by young Israelis living in conflict area and their Polish counterparts, who do not live in conflict area and how these perceptions affect their traveling intentions to destinations with different types of risks – Egypt, Turkey, India and Japan.

Design/methodology/approach

– The research participants were 713 Israeli and Polish students who responded to a structured questionnaire.

Findings

– The findings validate the assumption that contextual distinctions shape differently factors affecting traveling risk estimation and the intention of young people to travel abroad. The results indicated that the priming effect is substantial, reflected in Israelis’ significantly higher assessments of risks concerning destinations with terror, health and natural disasters hazards in comparison to Poles’ evaluations. As predicted, Israeli students exhibit lesser intentions to travel to Turkey, Egypt and India than their Polish counterparts. The study also showed similarities between Israeli and Polish students. Young tourists’ with strong aversion to health hazards exhibit low intention to travel to India and those refraining from economic crisis are reluctant to travel to Egypt. The intention to travel to Japan and India decreased with high perception of destination risks.

Originality/value

– The current study constitutes a new departure in studying the contextual effects on travel-related decision making. It focusses on the impact of conflict ridden environment on intentions, attitudes and risks perception of young tourists with respect to traveling to risky destinations, previously hardly studied.
Impact of trust on the relationship of e-service quality and customer satisfaction
Authors: Kundu Sukanya , Datta Saroj Kumar
Published: May 2015

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to find the role of trust as a mediating variable between e-service quality and customer satisfaction in internet banking.

Design/methodology/approach

– The paper opted for an exploratory study using closed ended questionnaire. The empirical data are drawn from 367 customers of internet banking. Factor structure of e-SQ, customer satisfaction and trust has been tested using EFA and CFA by gap values and perception values. Structure equation modeling has been used to analyze the effects of independent variable e-service quality on customer satisfaction and the role of mediating variable trust. Stepwise analysis has been done to examine the effect of trust on customer satisfaction. Sobel test has been used to measure the indirect effect.

Findings

– e-SQ was found to be strongly correlated with customer satisfaction. The results confirm trust as a mediating variable between e-service quality while analyzing the same model with gap value and perception value.

Research limitations/implications

– The research implies that banking service providers should focus on improvement of trust parameters as well as those e-SQ dimensions which affects trust, to retain the customers and to get more customers for internet banking.

Originality/value

– The reliable and valid instrument confirmed in this research can be used by further studies detecting the relationships among these constructs in an extended context. The fundamental premise of the proposed research work model was to make banking service providers understand comprehensively the factors necessary to achieve high service quality that will significantly impact on customers’ trust, satisfaction.
Availability modeling of repairable systems using Markov system dynamics simulation
Authors: Rao M. Srinivasa , Naikan V.N.A
Published: May 2015

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to propose a novel hybrid approach called as Markov System Dynamics (MSD) approach which combines the Markov approach with system dynamics (SD) simulation approach for availability modeling and to study the dynamic behavior of repairable systems.

Design/methodology/approach

– In the proposed approach the identification of the single unit repairable system all possible states has been performed by using the Markov approach. The remaining stages of traditional Markov analysis are highly mathematically intensive. The present work proposes a hybrid approach called as MSD approach which combines the Markov approach with SD simulation approach to overcome some of the limitations of Markov process in a simple and efficient way for availability modeling and to study the dynamic behavior of this system.

Findings

– The proposed framework is illustrated for a single unit repairable system. The worked out example shows the steady state point and also it gives the point, interval and steady state availabilities and also the dynamic behavior of the system. However this methodology can be extended easily for more complex multi-state maintainable systems. The results of the simulation when compared with that obtained by traditional Markov analysis clearly validate the proposed approach as an alternative approach for availability modeling of repairable systems.

Practical implications

– In many practical situations we require to find the time at which our system reaches steady state conditions for planning maintenance activities. The proposed MSD method in this paper is capable of finding this steady state point very easily.

Originality/value

– The proposed approach clearly indicates the time at which the system reaches its steady state and calculates the point, interval availabilities for planning maintenance activities. The different parties, i.e., engineers and machine operators, can jointly work with this model in order to understand the dynamic behavior of repairable systems.
How Theory X style of management arose from a fundamental attribution error
Authors: Davison H. Kristl , Smothers Jack
Published: May 2015

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to propose that the Theory X style of management arose from a fundamental attribution error, in which managers assumed that employees’ lack of motivation was a disposition rather than a function of unmotivating work situations.

Design/methodology/approach

– The paper reviews the nature of work during the industrial revolution from a Job Characteristics Model perspective and compares Theory X and Theory Y perspectives in terms of their emphasis on dispositional or situational influences on behavior.

Findings

– It was found that factory work performed during the industrial revolution was likely to be deficient in terms of the five core dimensions of the Job Characteristics Model, and would have been unmotivating. Because of the fundamental attribution error, managers would have assumed that workers were unmotivated by nature, but the situation was likely the cause of their lack of motivation.

Practical implications

– As illustrated by our findings, management theory development and interpretation can benefit from understanding the historical context within which the theory was developed. Considering both situational and person (i.e. individual differences or traits) effects is particularly important for theory development.

Originality/value

– The unique contribution of this paper is to make the connection between the characteristics of work performed during the industrial revolution and consequent inaccurate managerial attributions of worker motivation (i.e. Theory X).
Board interlocks and corporate performance among firms listed abroad
Authors: Peng Mike W. , Mutlu Canan C. , Sauerwald Steve , Au Kevin Y. , Wang Denis Y.L.
Published: May 2015

Purpose

– This paper aims to explore the interlock-performance relationship among mainland Chinese firms listed in Hong Kong by taking advantage of a relationship-intensive context whereby such a link is likely to be especially important. Although strategic networks such as interlocking directorates have been found to affect a number of strategic behaviors, the link connecting board interlocks and corporate performance has remained ambiguous. Considerable light has been shed on the strategic networks of firms whose shares are listed abroad, which have been under-studied despite their rising importance in the global economy.

Design/methodology/approach

– Data come from a particularly interesting historical period – the early 1990s prior to Hong Kong’s 1997 handover to China. Both quantitative and qualitative research have been used.

Findings

– Empirically, it was found that good performance in an earlier period helps draw outside directors in a later period, and that network centrality and certain types of interlocks help improve performance, albeit with varying degrees. Overall, our results answer the question whether strategic networks such as interlocks matter for corporate performance with a qualified “yes”.

Originality/value

– Taking advantage of a relationship-intensive context, this article explores the interlock-performance relationship among mainland Chinese firms listed in Hong Kong. Focus is specifically on the two years, 1993 and 1995, due to their specific historical importance because these two years represent the beginning of Chinese firms’ listing in Hong Kong.
Model for economic replacement time of mining production rigs including redundant rig costs
Authors: Al-Chalabi Hussan Saed , Lundberg Jan , Al-Gburi Majid , Ahmadi Alireza , Ghodrati Behzad
Published: May 2015

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to present a practical model to determine the economic replacement time (ERT) of production machines. The objective is to minimise the total cost of capital equipment, where total cost includes acquisition, operating, maintenance costs and costs related to the machine’s downtime. The costs related to the machine’s downtime are represented by the costs of using a redundant machine.

Design/methodology/approach

– In total, four years of cost data are collected. Data are analysed, practical optimisation model is developed and regression analysis is done to estimate the drilling rigs ERT. The artificial neural network (ANN) technique is used to identify the effect of factors influencing the ERT of the drilling rigs.

Findings

– The results show that the redundant rig cost has the largest impact on ERT, followed by acquisition, maintenance and operating costs. The study also finds that increasing redundant costs per hour have a negative effect on ERT, while decreases in other costs have a positive effect. Regression analysis shows a linear relationship between the cost factors and ERT.

Practical implications

– The proposed approach can be used by the decision maker in determining the ERT of production machines which used in mining industry.

Originality/value

– The research proposed in this paper provides and develops an optimisation model for ERT of mining machines. This research also identifies and explains the factors that have the largest impact on the production machine’s ERT. This model for estimating the ERT has never been studied on mining drilling rigs.
Rapid collapse of a sub‐Antarctic alpine ecosystem: the role of climate and pathogens
Authors: Bergstrom Dana M. , Bricher Phillippa K. , Raymond Ben , Terauds Aleks , Doley David , McGeoch Melodie A. , Whinam Jennie , Glen Morag , Yuan Ziqing , Kiefer Kate , Shaw Justine D. , Bramely‐Alves Jessica , Rudman Tim , Mohammed Caroline , Lucieer Arko , Visoiu Micah , Jansen van Vuuren Bettine , Ball Marilyn C.
Published: May 2015

Ecosystem change is predicted to become more prevalent with climate change. Widespread dieback of cushion plants and bryophytes in alpine fellfield on Macquarie Island may represent such change. Loss of the keystone endemic cushion plant,Azorella macquariensis, was so severe that it has been declared critically endangered.

We document the dieback and its extent. Due to the rapidity of the event, we sought to infer causes by testing two mechanistic hypotheses: (i)that extensive dieback was due to a pathogenand (ii)that dieback was a consequence of a change in climate that induced stress in several susceptible species. We searched for pathogens using both conventional and next‐generation sequencing techniques. We examined plant functional morphology in conjunction with a long‐term climate record of plant‐relevant climate parameters to determine whether environmental conditions had become inimical forA. macquariensis.

Dieback was found across the entire range ofA. macquariensis. A survey found 88% of 115 stratified/ random sites contained affected cushions and 84% contained dead bryophytes. Within‐site dieback increased over time.

No conclusive evidence thatA. macquariensisdeaths were caused by a definitive disease‐causing pathogen emerged. However, the presence of bacterial, fungal and oomycete taxa, some potentially pathogenic, suggested that stressed cushions could become susceptible to infection.

The primary cause of collapse is suspected failure ofA. macquariensisand other fellfield species to withstand recent decadal changes in summer water availability. Increased wind speed, sunshine hours and evapotranspiration resulted in accumulated deficits of plant available water spanning 17 years (1992–2008). High vulnerability to interrupted water supply was consistent with functional morphology ofA. macquariensis,and climate change has altered the species’ environment from wet and misty to one subject to periods of drying.

Synthesis and applications. With alpine fellfield dieback baseline data on Macquarie Island established, future monitoring will determine whether this event represents a transient, decadal‐level change in the ecosystem or the initiation of a climate‐related, transformation away from anAzorella‐dominated fellfield ecosystem. That mechanisms driving ecosystem collapse were complex and multiple stressors appeared to be impacting cumulatively may be relevant to other locations.
Optimal Privatisation and Trade Policies with Endogenous Market Structure
Authors: Cato Susumu , Matsumura Toshihiro
Published: May 2015

This study investigates the short‐run and long‐run relationships of trade and privatisation policies. In both the short run and the long run, the optimal degree of privatisation is increasing in the import tariff rate. The optimal tariff rate is strictly positive in the short run but can be non‐positive in the long run. Thus, the long‐run analysis yields contrasting implications on trade policy in mixed oligopolies.
The global partnership for sustainable development
Authors: Huang Yongfu , Quibria Muhammad G.
Published: May 2015

This paper examines whether foreign aid, together with other economic, social and environmental factors, contributes to sustainable development. It starts with an illustrative theoretical growth model where foreign aid promotes sustainable development by protecting the environment. Using factor analysis and newly developed estimation methods for a dynamic panel data model with endogenous regressors, the empirical section of the paper finds evidence that foreign aid has had a significantly positive influence on sustainable development in aid recipient countries. This effect is very likely to go through channels related to growth and resources as well as a technology channel with respect to energy intensity. This research has important implications for a post‐2015 development framework on international collective action with regard to a sustainable future.
Is There an Association Between the Body Mass Index and Interpersonal Violent Behavior?
Authors: Ekmekcioglu Cem , Devletlian Selin , Blasche Gerhard , Kundi Michael
Published: May 2015

An inverse relationship between the body mass index (BMI) and the risk of completed suicide was shown in several studies. Furthermore, it is suggested that obesity might be associated with a lower risk for violent criminality. Therefore, the aim of this study was to analyze whether a higher BMI is associated with a lower risk for being arrested due to violent behavior in a sample of 43,992 male offenders. Multinomial logistic regression analysis was applied to assess the relationship between different BMI categories and categories of committed crime as outcome variable by including various covariates. Our results indicated that compared to a normal BMI a higher BMI was associated with a significantly lower risk for being arrested in different crime categories associated with interpersonal violence, such as crimes against life and limb (for example: odds ratio = 0.60, CI 95%: 0.52–0.69 for 30–34.9 kg/m2).
Effects of Uremic Toxins from the Gut Microbiota on Bone: A Brief Look at Chronic Kidney Disease
Authors: Black Ana Paula , Cardozo Ludmila F M F , Mafra Denise
Published: May 2015

Patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) frequently have mineral and bone disorders (CKD‐MBD) that are caused by several mechanisms. Recent research has suggested that uremic toxins from the gut such as p‐cresyl sulfate (PCS) and indoxyl sulfate (IS) could also be involved in the development of bone disease in patients with CKD. IS and PCS are produced by microbiota in the gut, carried into the plasma bound to serum albumin, and are normally excreted into the urine. However, in patients with CKD, there is an accumulation of high levels of these uremic toxins. The exact mechanisms of action of uremic toxins in bone disease remain unclear. The purpose of this brief review is to discuss the link between uremic toxins (IS and PCS) and bone mineral disease in chronic kidney disease.
High Hemoglobin Levels Maintained by an Erythropoiesis‐Stimulating Agent Improve Renal Survival in Patients with Severe Renal Impairment
Authors: Tsubakihara Yoshiharu , Akizawa Tadao , Iwasaki Manabu , Shimazaki Ryutaro
Published: May 2015

Our goal was to investigate the effect modification of maintaining a high Hb target range through erythropoiesis‐stimulating agent therapy on the renal outcome with respect to chronic kidney disease (CKD) stage and concurrent diabetes condition in patients with CKD. We used data from a previously reported randomized controlled trial involving 321 CKD patients not on dialysis, with Hb levels of <10 g/dL, and serum creatinine (Cr) of 2.0 to 6.0 mg/dL, and in which maintaining Hb levels at 11.0–13.0 g/dL with darbepoetin‐α (High Hb group) resulted in a greater renal protective effect than maintaining Hb levels at 9.0–11.0 g/dL with epoetin‐α (Low Hb group). We conducted a post‐hoc analysis of the effects of baseline CKD stage and concurrent diabetic condition on the renal composite endpoint, consisting of death, initiation of renal replacement therapy, and doubling of the serum Cr level. Both groups with stage 4 CKD had a 3‐year cumulative renal survival rate of 53.8%, whereas in patients with stage 5 CKD, the rate in the High Hb group (31.0%) was significantly (P = 0.012) higher than that in the Low Hb group (19.1%). The observations made in patients with stage 5 CKD were maintained on further analysis of non‐diabetic patients, but were not seen in those with diabetes or stage 4 CKD. These results suggest that in patients with stage 5 CKD, especially those without diabetes, achieving a higher target Hb level with erythropoiesis‐stimulating agents is associated with a greater renoprotective effect.
New genus of Phycitinae (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae) with description of a new species from Cambodia
Authors: Qi Mu‐Jie , Bae Yang‐Seop
Published: May 2015

Samkosia gen. n. and its type species, Samkosia cambodiensis sp. n., are described and illustrated from Cambodia. The new combination S. rufimaculella (Yamanaka, 1993) comb. n., is suggested. The adults and genitalia of the new species are illustrated.
Incidence, Antibiotic Susceptibility, and Toxin Profiles of Bacillus cereus sensu lato Isolated from Korean Fermented Soybean Products
Authors: Yim Jin‐Hyeok , Kim Kwang‐Yeop , Chon Jung‐Whan , Kim Dong‐Hyeon , Kim Hong‐Seok , Choi Da‐Som , Choi In‐Soo , Seo Kun‐Ho
Published: May 2015

Korean fermented soybean products, such as doenjang, kochujang, ssamjang, and cho‐kochujang, can harbor foodborne pathogens such as Bacillus cereus sensu lato (B. cereus sensu lato). The aim of this study was to characterize the toxin gene profiles, biochemical characteristics, and antibiotic resistance patterns of B. cereus sensu lato strains isolated from Korean fermented soybean products. Eighty‐eight samples of Korean fermented soybean products purchased from retails in Seoul were tested. Thirteen of 26 doenjang samples, 13 of 23 kochujang samples, 16 of 30 ssamjang samples, and 5 of 9 cho‐kochujang samples were positive for B. cereus sensu lato strains. The contamination level of all positive samples did not exceed 4 log CFU/g of food (maximum levels of Korea Food Code). Eighty‐seven B. cereus sensu lato strains were isolated from 47 positive samples, and all isolates carried at least one enterotoxin gene. The detection rates of hblCDA, nheABC, cytK, and entFM enterotoxin genes among all isolates were 34.5%, 98.9%, 57.5%, and 100%, respectively. Fifteen strains (17.2%) harbored the emetic toxin gene. Most strains tested positive for salicin fermentation (62.1%), starch hydrolysis (66.7%), hemolysis (98.9%), motility test (100%), and lecithinase production (96.6%). The B. cereus sensu lato strains were highly resistant to β‐lactam antibiotics such as ampicillin, penicillin, cefepime, imipenem, and oxacillin. Although B. cereus sensu lato levels in Korean fermented soybean products did not exceed the maximum levels permitted in South Korea (<104 CFU/g), these results indicate that the bacterial isolates have the potential to cause diarrheal or emetic gastrointestinal diseases.
MSAP markers and global cytosine methylation in plants: a literature survey and comparative analysis for a wild‐growing species
Authors: Alonso Conchita , Pérez Ricardo , Bazaga Pilar , Medrano Mónica , Herrera Carlos M.
Published: May 2015

Methylation of DNA cytosines affects whether transposons are silenced and genes are expressed, and is a major epigenetic mechanism whereby plants respond to environmental change. Analyses of methylation‐sensitive amplification polymorphism (MS‐AFLP or MSAP) have been often used to assess methyl‐cytosine changes in response to stress treatments and, more recently, in ecological studies of wild plant populations. MSAP technique does not require a sequenced reference genome and provides many anonymous loci randomly distributed over the genome for which the methylation status can be ascertained. Scoring of MSAP data, however, is not straightforward, and efforts are still required to standardize this step to make use of the potential to distinguish between methylation at different nucleotide contexts. Furthermore, it is not known how accurately MSAP infers genome‐wide cytosine methylation levels in plants. Here, we analyse the relationship between MSAP results and the percentage of global cytosine methylation in genomic DNA obtained by HPLC analysis. A screening of literature revealed that methylation of cytosines at cleavage sites assayed by MSAP was greater than genome‐wide estimates obtained by HPLC, and percentages of methylation at different nucleotide contexts varied within and across species. Concurrent HPLC and MSAP analyses of DNA from 200 individuals of the perennial herb Helleborus foetidus confirmed that methyl‐cytosine was more frequent in CCGG contexts than in the genome as a whole. In this species, global methylation was unrelated to methylation at the inner CG site. We suggest that global HPLC and context‐specific MSAP methylation estimates provide complementary information whose combination can improve our current understanding of methylation‐based epigenetic processes in nonmodel plants.
CEO Overconfidence and Management Forecasting
Authors: Hribar Paul , Yang Holly
Published: May 2015

This paper examines how overconfidence affects the properties of management forecasts. Using both the “over‐optimism” and “miscalibration” dimensions of overconfidence to generate our predictions, we examine three research questions. First, we examine whether overconfidence increases the likelihood of issuing a forecast. Second, we examine whether overconfidence increases the amount of optimism in management forecasts. Third, we examine whether overconfidence increases the precision of the forecast. Using both options‐ and press‐based measures to proxy for individual overconfidence, we find support for all three research questions.
Researching accounting in health care: considering the nature of academic contribution
Authors: Chapman Christopher S.
Published: May 2015

As academics we naturally seek to address interesting and important questions. Our concerns for rigour drive us to work from generally accessible preoccupations towards more narrowly and precisely defined questions however. Such specialisation is properly understood as a source of strength in our knowledge. The growing impact of governance mechanisms surrounding journal rankings threatens this strength by attacking our abilities to produce, but also to integrate, the specialised contributions that we make however. This article will expand upon this basic argument and further elaborate it through a discussion of the academic literature around costing in health care.
Promoting the role of farmer‐based organizations for value chain integration: the tension between a program's targeting and an organization's investment strategy
Authors: Francesconi Gian Nicola , Wouterse Fleur
Published: May 2015

We use new data on 500 Farmer‐Based Organizations (FBOs) in Ghana and regression analysis to reveal determinants of collective investments and the case of the Millennium Development Authority's (MiDA) agricultural program in Ghana to demonstrate that development programs offering hard incentives may be counterproductive in promoting collective action. We show that when a program sets criteria for participation and offers in‐cash and in‐kind support to selected FBOs, it may promote rent‐seeking and crowd out equity capital formation. This is so because FBOs may have formed for the sole purpose of benefitting from incentives offered by the program and thus lack an economic justification, which is an important condition for progression through the cooperative life cycle. Further, by setting stringent participation criteria, the program may end up selecting younger organizations while it is the more consolidated organizations that are able to connect to business development services (BDS) and engage in more offensive collective action.
Voting Against Your Constituents? How Lobbying Affects Representation
Authors: Giger Nathalie , Klüver Heike
Published: May 2015

Citizens delegate the representation of their political preferences to members of Parliament (MPs), who are supposed to represent their interests in the legislature. However, MPs are exposed to a variety of interest groups seeking to influence their voting behavior. We argue that interest groups influence how MPs cast their vote in Parliament, but that this effect varies across groups. While lobbying by sectional groups provides incentives for MPs to defect from their constituents, we expect that cause groups in fact strengthen the link between MPs and their voters. We test our argument based on an innovative study of 118 Swiss public referenda, which allows for directly comparing voter preferences with legislative voting of 448 MPs on these issues. Drawing on a multilevel regression analysis, this study shows that interest groups considerably affect the link between MPs and their voters. Our findings have important implications for our understanding of political representation.
MicroRNA‐155 modulates P2R signaling and Th2 priming of dendritic cells during allergic airway inflammation in mice
Authors: Zech A. , Ayata C. K. , Pankratz F. , Meyer A. , Baudiß K. , Cicko S. , Yegutkin G. G. , Grundmann S. , Idzko M.
Published: May 2015

Background

Dendritic cells (DCs) are the professional antigen‐presenting cells (APCs) in the lung. They are known to be key players in the induction and maintenance of allergic asthma by cross‐linking innate and adaptive immune responses. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are known to influence cell fate and function by translational suppression or induction of messenger RNA (mRNA) degradation. miR‐155 has been shown to be a crucial regulator of the immune system. However, its function in the pathogenesis of allergic airway inflammation (AAI) is not completely elucidated yet.

Methods

Wild type (WT) and miR‐155‐deficient (miR‐155−/−) mice were used in ovalbumin (OVA) and house dust mite (HDM) models of AAI. Adoptive transfer of sensitized DCs to the lungs, migration, and T‐cell priming assays were used to investigate the functional relevance of miR‐155 in DCs.

Results

miR‐155−/− mice showed reduced eosinophilic airway inflammation compared to WT mice in both models of AAI. Furthermore, miR‐155−/− DCs showed limited Th2 priming capacity and failed to induce airway inflammation in allergen‐exposed WT mice. miR‐155 deficiency on DCs was also associated with impaired purinergic receptor signaling, as miR‐155‐/‐ DCs showed reduced chemotaxis and IL‐1beta secretion upon stimulation with ATP, probably due to direct targeting of ectonucleoside triphosphate diphosphohydrolases (ENTPD) by miR‐155.

Conclusions

miR‐155 deficiency alleviates AAI by diminishing Th2 priming capacity and ATP‐/P2R‐induced activation of DCs in mice, suggesting this miRNA as a potential therapeutic target of AAI.
SCOOP: A measurement and database of student online search behavior and performance
Authors: Zhou Mingming
Published: May 2015

The ability to access and process massive amounts of online information is required in many learning situations. In order to develop a better understanding of student online search process especially in academic contexts, an online tool (SCOOP) is developed for tracking mouse behavior on the web to build a more extensive account of student web search processes. Over 100 university students' search activities with SCOOP were recorded as they searched for answers to assigned questions. The primary use of the SCOOP dataset is thus to provide the raw data for the development of online information search models. Further complications will arise because other personal and contextual factors affect the search process for different students with different personalities, learning styles or types of tasks. Hence, the dataset is also for testing the relationship between other factors and online search processes.
Tagclouds and group cognition: Effect of tagging support on students' reflective learning in team blogs
Authors: Xie Ying , Lin Shu‐Yuan
Published: May 2015

We investigated the effects of supported tagging (a prompting mechanism for students to stop and think about their writing) for team blogging on undergraduate students' reflective learning and the relationship between tagclouds and group cognition. Thirty‐nine students were randomly assigned to six groups and blogged for 5 weeks. Three groups were randomly selected to receive instructor‐provided keywords as supports for their tagging activity in the team blogs. Data analyses included: (1) comparing student‐attached tags to the instructor‐provided keywords and each participant's concept map for evidence of reflection; and (2) comparing each team's tagcloud against the team members' aggregated concept maps for the corresponding relationship between tagclouds and group cognition. Results revealed that the instructor's support in such situations might be helpful to keep students on task whereas free tagging may offer an opportunity for students' deeper processing of learning. The results also showed that tagclouds well represented students' group cognition.
Progress in understanding the diagnosis and molecular genetics of macrothrombocytopenias
Authors: Favier Remi , Raslova Hana
Published: May 2015

The inherited macrothrombocytopenias constitute a subgroup of congenital platelet disorders that is the best characterized from the genetic point of view. This clinically heterogeneous subgroup is characterized by a variable degree of bleeding but without predisposition to haematological malignancies, as seen in the two other subgroups. The classification of inherited thrombocytopenia is traditionally based on the description of different clinical and biological features, in particular the measurement of the mean platelet volume. In certain disorders, biochemical platelet components are abnormal, and their analyses are useful in diagnosis. However, these approaches present several limitations, and many cases remain undiagnosed, especially for patients without a clear family history. An analysis of genetic abnormalities was subsequently used for classification, demonstrating that some different clinical entities were, in fact, identical. The genomic approach that was used initially to accurately link some phenotypic diagnoses with the causal genetic alteration was positional cloning and DNA sequencing. More recently, next generation sequencing in the form of whole‐genome or ‐exome sequencing and RNA sequencing has been developed. This review will focus on the progress in understanding the different macrothrombocytopenias that have been identified.
Downregulation of miR‐375 in aldosterone‐producing adenomas promotes tumour cell growth via MTDH
Authors: He Juan , Cao Yanan , Su Tingwei , Jiang Yiran , Jiang Lei , Zhou Weiwei , Zhang Cui , Wang Weiqing , Ning Guang
Published: May 2015

Objective

Previous studies have investigated the genetic and molecular basis of primary aldosteronism (PA), a common cause of human hypertension, but the effects of microRNAs (miRNAs) on the adrenocortical cell proliferation and aldosterone production are largely obscure. Here, we characterized miRNA expression patterns in the subtypes of PA to gain a better understanding of its pathogenesis.

Methods

miRNA expression was assessed by microarray profiling analysis in aldosterone‐producing adenoma (APA), unilateral adrenal hyperplasia (UAH) and normal adrenal cortex tissues. Selected differentially expressed miRNAs were further validated in a validation cohort by qRT‐PCR. A gain‐of‐function approach was used to explore the functional role of the specific miRNA in vitro.

Results

Of 31 miRNAs including miR‐375, miR‐7 and miR‐29b were found to be significantly differentially expressed among these three groups. miR‐375 was the most downregulated one in adrenal cortex tissues from PA patients, and its expression level was inversely correlated with the tumour size in APA. Overexpression of miR‐375 in a human adrenocortical cell line (H295R) reduced cell proliferation and suppressed the expression of MTDH (metadherin, also known as astrocyte elevated gene‐1). Moreover, MTDH was verified as a direct target of miR‐375 through luciferase reporter assays. Knock‐down of MTDH in H295R cells attenuated Akt‐Ser473 phosphorylation and inhibited cell viability.

Conclusion

Our findings suggest that miR‐375 exerts its tumour‐suppressive function via targeting MTDH/Akt pathway and implicate a potential therapeutic target in PA.
‘He told me to calm down and all that’: a qualitative study of forms of social support in youth mentoring relationships
Authors: Brady Bernadine , Dolan Pat , Canavan John
Published: May 2015

The worldwide growth in formal youth mentoring programmes over the past two decades is partly a response to the perception that young people facing adversity do not have access to supportive relationships with adults and positive role models in their communities to the degree they once had. Formal mentoring programmes facilitate the development of a friendship or ‘match’ between an older volunteer and a young person, with the objective of supporting the young persons’ personal and social development. Drawing on 66 semi‐structured interviews with young people, parents, mentors and caseworkers associated with nine youth mentoring matches in the Big Brothers Big Sisters Programme in Ireland, this paper analyses the forms of social support evident in the mentor–mentee relationships and highlights how the mentoring relationship was perceived to have impacted on the well‐being of the young people participating. The findings reflect the consensus in the mentoring literature that close, well‐established mentoring relationships have the potential to bring about meaningful change in the lives of young people.