bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Distributed leadership and school effectiveness in Egypt and Oman: an exploratory study
Authors: Al-Harthi Aisha Salim Ali , Al-Mahdy Yasser F. Hendawy
Published: July 2017

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to examine teachers’ perceptions of the levels of distributed leadership (DL) practices and the indicators of school effectiveness (SE) in Egypt and Oman. It also investigated the role of accreditation on these perceptions.

Design/methodology/approach

The study sampled 635 teachers in Egypt and Oman using the SE index (Hoy, 2009) and the DL scale (Özer and Beycioğlu, 2013).

Findings

The average score of the perceived level of DL practices of school principal and SE indicators showed was below the agreeableness level. DL was shown to be a positive and significant predictor of SE. The Omani teachers had a significantly higher perception of the availability of DL in their schools and of their schools’ effectiveness than the Egyptian teachers. The results also gave support to the belief that the school accreditation process is a way to increase DL in schools and also to increase the indicators of SE.

Practical implications

One implication of the findings is the need for training school principals on DL practices that can potentially enhance SE. Another implication is a wider adoption of accreditation practices.

Originality/value

This study provides empirical evidence about teachers’ perceptions of the availability of SE and DL in schools in two Middle Eastern countries, Egypt and Oman. It also adds support to the belief in the importance of the role of accreditation in increasing SE and DL practices.
Human capital challenges in the food and beverage service industry of Canada
Authors: Bradley Doris Miculan , Elenis Tony , Hoyer Gary , Martin David , Waller James
Published: July 2017

Purpose

Challenged by a clear shortfall of available employees to be long-term members of the food service industry, this paper aims to establish reasons for the shortage of available employees and curate a number of strategies to improve the situation.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper draws on the perspectives of many industry stakeholders. These professionals collaborated to identify a number of contributing factors to the shortage of employees in the Canadian food and beverage industry. Corresponding solutions were assessed, prioritized and categorized by groups responsible for taking action.

Findings

There are many strategies that can be implemented in both the short and long term that can increase the draw for potential employees to join this industry.

Practical implications

Industry members, educators and government policymakers can all play a role in improving the worker shortage in the food service industry. The recommendations range from industry collaboration to redefinition of jobs and to redistribution of wages.

Originality/value

The co-authors of this paper include the President and CEO of Ontario Restaurant, Hotel and Motel Association and educators with strong industry experiences gained in the positions of food and beverage director, restaurant manager and executive chef. Given the diverse experiences of the author team, this paper creates a more holistic view of the recommendations to consider for this industry to see positive change.
The path to embed sustainability in Canadian tourism companies
Authors: Dixon Andrea
Published: July 2017

Purpose

This paper aims to determine a uniquely Canadian training path for tourism companies to follow to embed sustainable tourism practices in their companies.

Design/methodology/approach

The foundation of this paper was laid by conducting in-depth executive interviews with leading tourism companies in Canada. Based on the interviews, an eight-question survey was developed and sent to 22 Canadian tourism companies with a response rate of 36 per cent. The results of best practice research conducted in the UK and Ireland were considered in relation to implementation in Canada.

Findings

This paper suggests a Canadian process and key concepts to consider for embedding sustainability in tourism companies.

Practical implications

This paper provides a practical training process, geared for Canadian tourism companies, that embeds sustainability in all divisions of the company. A step-by-step process is described that all tourism companies, no matter their size, can use to embed sustainability.

Originality/value

This paper draws upon the author’s experience in working with Canadian tourism companies and incorporates best practices shared in a partnership with The Travel Foundation. As the paper represents both original research and industry best practice, it is of interest to academics, tourism training centres and tourism companies in Canada. Learning an effective and efficient process developed specifically for Canadian tourism companies will allow companies to economically embed sustainability and ultimately create a unique market position for the company.
State of the Canadian hospitality and tourism industry
Authors: Jayawardena Chandana (Chandi) , Sovani Altaf , MacDonald Alanna
Published: July 2017

Purpose

This paper aims to provide a backdrop to the Worldwide Hospitality Themes (WHATT) theme issue (volume 9, issue 4) on aspects of the hospitality and tourism industry of Canada.

Design/methodology/approach

Canadian hospitality and tourism educators and their counterparts in the industry have collaborated periodically to discuss the challenges they face and to find practical solutions. Outcomes of ten key initiatives in Canada during the past 15 years that brought leaders of the hospitality and tourism industry and academia together to create 50 academic papers are summarized.

Findings

This paper provides key information on Canada, its people, its economic conditions and the challenges of the five sectors of the tourism industry in Canada. By introducing the main challenges faced by each sector, this paper provides a foundation for the other articles that follow in this WHATT theme issue.

Practical implications

Canadian tourism is losing ground, tourism marketing budgets are significantly reducing and there is a labour shortage crisis which are identified as key challenges requiring urgent attention. In conclusion, the authors suggest practical solutions.

Originality/value

Readers who are interested in the Canadian hospitality and tourism industry will find this paper to be of interest.
Now or never: smoking cessation discussions in the face of serious illness
Authors: Iversen Clara
Published: July 2017

Sociological research on medical discussions of lifestyle suggests that smoking patients may be seen as knowingly causing their medical problems. Therefore, it may be interactionally problematic for doctors to raise the issue of smoking cessation in relation to patients’ serious health problems. While a serious illness can be expected to bring to the fore the relevance of smoking cessation advice, it may also give rise to questions about patients’ right to treatment. This study uses conversation analysis to explicate how patients and doctors manage issues of responsibility in smoking cessation discussions in the face of a serious medical problem that strongly correlates with smoking. The findings show that whilst ill health can be referred to in a confrontational manner, it can also give smoking cessation a ‘now or never’ status that downplays patients’ responsibility for not having quit before. Based on these findings, the paper concludes that for warranting further smoking cessation advice, how doctors and patients verbalise the link between smoking and a serious medical problem matters more than whether they do so.
Routine coagulation tests on ICU admission are associated with mortality in sepsis: an observational study
Authors: Benediktsson S. , Frigyesi A. , Kander T.
Published: July 2017

Background

Low platelet count on admission to an intensive care unit (ICU) is associated with increased mortality and is thus included in some severity scoring systems such as the simplified acute physiologic score 3 (SAPS 3); however it is unclear whether other routine coagulation tests also predict mortality. The purpose of this retrospective single‐centre study was to investigate whether activated partial thromboplastin time (APTT) or prothrombin time – international normalized ratio (PT‐INR) measured on admission to the ICU in patients with severe sepsis or septic shock may be associated with mortality independent of SAPS 3 score.

Methods

All patients admitted to a tertiary general ICU from 2007 to 2014 diagnosed with severe sepsis or septic shock were eligible. Results from APTT and PT‐INR within 1.5 h of admission as well as SAPS 3 were used as independent variables in a Cox regression.

Results

Of total 5485 ICU admissions during the study period we identified 647 unique patients with severe sepsis or septic shock. APTT and PT‐INR were found to correlate significantly with mortality with a hazard ratio (HR) of 1.014 [95% confidence interval of HR (1.006–1.023)] for APTT and 1.422 (1.117–1.811) for PT‐INR. HR for SAPS 3 was 1.036 (1.028–1.044).

Conclusion

Activated partial thromboplastin time prolongation and raised PT‐INR on ICU admission in patients with severe sepsis or septic shock is associated with increased mortality independent of SAPS 3 score. This indicates that APTT prolongation and PT‐INR increase represents morbidity that is not accounted for in SAPS 3.
Anthropologists in Unexpected Places: Tracing Anthropological Theory, Practice, and Policy in Indians at Work
Authors: Morgan Mindy J.
Published: July 2017

During the 1930s, anthropologists were frequent contributors to the periodical, Indians at Work, published by the Office of Indian Affairs (OIA). While the magazine's primary purpose was to chronicle American Indian participation in federal relief programs, it also served as a larger forum for publishing and reprinting ethnographic works authored by anthropologists about American Indian communities. As such, it was a key site for mid‐twentieth‐century disciplinary debates, particularly in regard to establishing the subfield of applied anthropology. The varied contributions expose differences regarding the purpose and goals of the discipline as well as growing tensions between anthropologists and the OIA about the application of disciplinary knowledge to governmental policy. These struggles reveal the difficulty anthropologists had in locating contemporary American Indian communities within the larger US nation‐state. Critically, the magazine also provided a space for tribal members as well as Indigenous anthropologists to engage in debates regarding ethnographic (mis)representation. [history of anthropology, anthropological practice, Indigenous studies, United States]
Uniquely Human: Cultural Norms and Private Acts of Mercy in the War Zone
Authors: Straight Bilinda
Published: July 2017

War‐zone mercy—sparing of one's culturally constructed enemies in the midst of organized group violence—is a political act but also a potentially empathically motivated one that has contributed to shared expressive gestures across cultural boundaries and to international laws of war. This article elucidates historical and cross‐cultural norms for war‐zone mercy in order to provide a theoretical framework for scholarly research examining this behavior and offers a case study with systematically collected data about war‐zone mercy during Kenyan pastoralist Samburu experiences of coalitional lethal violence (low‐intensity chronic warfare). As a whole, this article presents evidence from human and nonhuman animal studies that war‐zone mercy is a uniquely human form of empathy‐produced altruism. Humans may be trained or culturally conditioned to kill, and yet widely available historical and cross‐cultural examples of war‐zone mercy underscore the ways in which prosocial emotions like empathy reveal and pervade the human. [war, agency, prosocial emotion, altruism, Kenya]
Evaluating Center Performance in the Competing Risks Setting: Application to Outcomes of Wait-listed End-stage Renal Disease Patients
Authors: Dharmarajan Sai H. , Schaubel Douglas E. , Saran Rajiv
Published: July 2017

It is often of interest to compare centers or healthcare providers on quality of care delivered. We consider the setting where evaluation of center performance on multiple competing events is of interest. We propose estimating center effects through cause-specific proportional hazards frailty models that allow correlation among a center's cause-specific effects. Estimation of our model proceeds via penalized partial likelihood and is implemented in R. To evaluate center performance, we also propose a directly standardized excess cumulative incidence (ECI) measure. Therefore, based on our proposed methods, practitioners can evaluate centers either through the cause-specific hazards or the cumulative incidence functions. We demonstrate, through simulations, the advantages of the proposed methods to detect outlying centers, by comparing the proposed methods and existing methods which assume uncorrelated random center effects. In addition, we develop a Correlation Score Test to test the null hypothesis that the competing event processes within a center are correlated. Using data from the Scientific Registry of Transplant Recipients, we apply our method to evaluate the performance of Organ Procurement Organizations on two competing risks: (i) receipt of a kidney transplant and (ii) death on the wait-list.
How much to share: Welfare effects of fiscal transfers
Authors: Kim Jinill , Kim Sunghyun
Published: July 2017

Recent sovereign debt crisis has challenged policy makers to explore the possibility of establishing a fiscal transfer system that could alleviate the negative impact of asymmetric shocks across countries. Using a simple labour production economy, we first derive an analytically tractable solution for optimal degree of fiscal transfers. In this economy, fiscal transfers can improve welfare by moving the competitive equilibrium with fiscal transfers closer to the social planner's solution. We then extend the model to a DSGE setting with capital, international bond and linear taxes, and we analyze how implementation of a simple revenue sharing rule affects welfare and macroeconomic variables over time. Simulation results show that risk sharing through fiscal transfers always improves welfare in the long run. However, under certain model specifications, short‐run transitional welfare loss can outweigh the long‐run benefits. These results suggest that, in designing fiscal transfers across countries, government should take into consideration the intertemporal nature of welfare gains.
How do foster carers manage the oral health of children in foster care? A qualitative study
Authors: Muirhead Vanessa , Subramanian Sri‐Kavi , Wright Desmond , Wong Ferranti S. L.
Published: July 2017

Objectives

This qualitative study explored how the foster family environment influenced children's oral health. It also aimed to better understand foster carers’ oral health knowledge, attitudes and experiences of managing foster children's oral health behaviours and oral health care.

Methods

An interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA) study design was used to recruit a purposive sample of foster carers in Tower Hamlets, United Kingdom, from a range of backgrounds (maximum variation sampling). Participants were aged 21 years and older and provided full‐time foster care for children for a minimum of 1 year. The foster carers took part in focus groups that were audio‐recorded and transcribed verbatim. Data analysis followed a five‐step IPA process, which included reading the transcripts, note taking, identifying emerging themes, connecting related themes and writing up the final themes. Iterative data gathering and analysis continued to reach thematic saturation.

Results

Three focus groups were conducted, involving a total of 12 foster carers. Eight of the 12 participants had fostered children for more than 10 years and they were currently fostering 22 children aged five to 18 years old. Four themes emerged from within the context of the supportive and nurturing foster family environment that described how foster carers’ responded to and managed the oral health of their foster children. Foster carers had adopted an oral health caregiving role, “in loco parentis” responding to the poor oral health of their vulnerable foster children. They were hypervigilant about establishing and monitoring children's oral health routines and taking their children to see a dentist; these were seen as an integral part of being good foster carers. They were knowledgeable about the causes of children's oral ill health, gained from their own dental experiences and from looking after their own children. Foster carers had experienced tensions while adopting this oral health caregiving role with dentists who had refused to see younger children. Foster carers had also experienced tensions with teenage foster children who questioned their parental authority and legitimate right to set rules about smoking and healthy eating.

Conclusions

This is the first study to explore foster carers’ oral health perspectives and the foster family environment within the oral health context. It highlights the unrecognized and important role that foster carers have in improving the oral health of vulnerable children. Further research is needed to explore the relationship between foster carers and dentists and to support the development of health and social care interventions to improve foster children's oral health.
Autologous serum supplement favours in vitro regenerative paracrine factors synthesis
Authors: Haque Nazmul , Kasim Noor Hayaty Abu , Kassim Noor Lide Abu , Rahman Mohammad Tariqur
Published: July 2017

Objectives

Foetal bovine serum (FBS) is often the serum supplement of choice for in vitro human cell culture. This study compares the effect of FBS and autologous human serum (AuHS) supplement in human peripheral blood mononuclear cell (PBMC) culture to prepare secretome.

Materials and methods

The PBMC (n = 7) were cultured either in RPMI‐1640 containing L‐glutamine and 50 units/ml Penicillin‐Streptomycin (BM) or in BM with either AuHS or FBS. Viability, proliferation and differentiation of PBMC were evaluated. Paracrine factors present in the secretomes (n = 6) were analysed using ProcartaPlex Human Cytokine panel (17 plex). Ingenuity Pathway Analysis (IPA) was performed to predict activation or inhibition of biological functions related to tissue regeneration.

Results

The viability of PBMC that were cultured with FBS supplement was significantly reduced at 96 h compared to those at 0 and 24 h (P < .05). While the reduction of the viability of PBMC that were cultured with AuHS supplement was not significantly different compared to those at 0 and 24 h. The FBS secretomes prepared at 24 h was found to contain significantly higher amount of EGF (P < .05) compared to that in AuHS or BM secretome. The AuHS secretomes contained significantly higher amount of HGF at 24 (P < .05) and 96 h (P < .01), and VEGF‐A at 24 h (P < .05) compared to those in the FBS secretomes. SDF‐1 was not detected in the FBS secretomes prepared at either 24 or 96 hours. Double immunocytochemical staining revealed a marked increase in co‐localization of SDF‐1 and its receptor in PBMC that were cultured with AuHS supplement compared to that cultured with FBS supplement.

Conclusion

In secretome preparation, AuHS supplement favours synthesis of paracrine factors that are needed for regenerative therapy.
Business Model Implementation within Networked Enterprises: A Case Study on a Finnish Pharmaceutical Project
Authors: Solaimani Sam , Heikkilä Marikka , Bouwman Harry
Published: July 2017

In many entrepreneurial projects, the concept of the business model (BM) is used to describe a business idea at a high‐level and in a holistic way. However, existing literature pays less attention to implementation (or execution) of BM. Implementation becomes more complex when a BM is proposed by or requires a network of collaborating enterprises. The aim of this paper is to provide an approach based on empirical research that supports BM transition from design to implementation. The empirical data used in this paper is based on a case study involving an innovative project in the pharmaceutical sector in Finland. The case analysis demonstrates how a high‐level BM needs careful consideration of its operational components from a network perspective to secure both value creation and capture. Drawing on the analysis, six concluding propositions on BM implementation in networked settings are put forward.
Risk of angioedema associated with levetiracetam compared with phenytoin: Findings of the observational health data sciences and informatics research network
Authors: Duke Jon D. , Ryan Patrick B. , Suchard Marc A. , Hripcsak George , Jin Peng , Reich Christian , Schwalm Marie‐Sophie , Khoma Yuriy , Wu Yonghui , Xu Hua , Shah Nigam H. , Banda Juan M. , Schuemie Martijn J.
Published: July 2017

Recent adverse event reports have raised the question of increased angioedema risk associated with exposure to levetiracetam. To help address this question, the Observational Health Data Sciences and Informatics research network conducted a retrospective observational new‐user cohort study of seizure patients exposed to levetiracetam (n = 276,665) across 10 databases. With phenytoin users (n = 74,682) as a comparator group, propensity score‐matching was conducted and hazard ratios computed for angioedema events by per‐protocol and intent‐to‐treat analyses. Angioedema events were rare in both the levetiracetam and phenytoin groups (54 vs. 71 in per‐protocol and 248 vs. 435 in intent‐to‐treat). No significant increase in angioedema risk with levetiracetam was seen in any individual database (hazard ratios ranging from 0.43 to 1.31). Meta‐analysis showed a summary hazard ratio of 0.72 (95% confidence interval [CI] 0.39–1.31) and 0.64 (95% CI 0.52–0.79) for the per‐protocol and intent‐to‐treat analyses, respectively. The results suggest that levetiracetam has the same or lower risk for angioedema than phenytoin, which does not currently carry a labeled warning for angioedema. Further studies are warranted to evaluate angioedema risk across all antiepileptic drugs.
Costs, length of stay, and mortality of super‐refractory status epilepticus: A population‐based study from Germany
Authors: Strzelczyk Adam , Ansorge Sonja , Hapfelmeier Jana , Bonthapally Vijayveer , Erder M. Haim , Rosenow Felix
Published: July 2017

Objective

Super‐refractory status epilepticus (SRSE) is a severe condition in which a patient in status epilepticus (SE) for ≥24 h does not respond to first‐, second‐, or third‐line therapy. The economic impact of SRSE treatment remains unclear. A health insurance research database was used for a population‐based estimation of SRSE‐associated inpatient costs, length of stay, and mortality in Germany.

Methods

An algorithm using International Classification of Diseases, 10th Edition coding and treatment parameters identified and classified patients in a German statutory health insurance database covering admissions from 2008 to 2013 as having refractory SE (RSE) or SRSE. Admissions data in our study refer to these classifications. Associated patient data included costs, procedures, and demographics.

Results

The algorithm identified 2,585 (all type) SE admissions, classified as 1,655 nonrefractory SE (64%), 592 (22.9%) RSE, and 338 (13.1%) SRSE, producing database incidence rates of 15.0 in 100,000, 5.2 in 100,000, and 3.0 in 100,000 per year, respectively. Median cost per admission was €4,063 for nonrefractory SE, €4,581 (p < 0.001) for RSE, and €32,706 (p < 0.001) for SRSE. Median length of stay varied significantly between 8 days (mean = 13.6) in nonrefractory SE, 14 days in RSE, and up to 37 days in SRSE. Discharge mortality increased from 9.6% in nonrefractory SE to 15.0% (p < 0.001) in RSE and 39.9% (p < 0.001) in SRSE.

Significance

This study evaluated the hospital treatment costs associated with admissions classified by the algorithm as SRSE in Germany. SRSE represented 13% of all SE admissions, but resulted in 56% of all SE‐related costs. The lack of approved treatments and limited number of evidence‐based treatment guidelines highlight the need for further evaluations of the SRSE burden of illness and the potential for further optimization of treatments for SRSE.
Metamorphic condition of a regional metamorphic complex in the Omuta district in northern Kyushu, southwest Japan
Authors: Ikeda Takeshi , Miyazaki Kazuhiro , Matsuura Hirohisa
Published: July 2017

A high‐temperature (T) metamorphic complex occurs in the Omuta district, northern Kyushu, Japan. Three metamorphic zones are defined based on pelitic mineral assemblage, i.e. chlorite–biotite zone, muscovite–andalusite zone and sillimanite–K‐feldspar zone with ascending metamorphic grade from north to south. Two isograds trend approximately east–west, which is oblique to the boundary between the metamorphic complex and the Tamana Granodiorite located on the southeast. The metamorphic condition of two pelitic rocks that occur in the muscovite–andalusite zone and sillimanite–K‐feldspar zone are estimated as 510 ±30 °C, 300 ±60 MPa and 720 ±30 °C, 620 ±60 MPa, respectively. Thermodynamic consideration reveals that use of the same geothermobarometer enables precise determination of the difference in pressure between the samples as 320 ±10 MPa. This indicates that the pelitic samples were metamorphosed at different depth by 11–12 km that is significantly larger than the geographic distance of 6.8 km between the sample localities. This also suggests that crustal thinning took place after the high‐T metamorphism. The high‐T metamorphic complex is, therefore, not of static contact metamorphism but of dynamic regional metamorphism. The present result combined with petrological and chronological similarities implies that this complex suffered the regional Ryoke metamorphism.
SPINK5 is associated with early‐onset and CHI3L1 with late‐onset atopic dermatitis
Authors: Dežman K. , Korošec P. , Rupnik H. , Rijavec M.
Published: July 2017

We have recently showed that filaggrin (FLG) mutations are associated only with early‐onset of AD, but not with late‐onset of AD. Consequently, other susceptibility genes should receive attention, especially in patients with late‐onset of AD. Our aim was to assess the associations between development of AD and the polymorphisms rs2303067 in SPINK5 and rs490928 in CHI3L1. A study population of 241 AD patients and 164 healthy controls was genotyped for two polymorphisms (rs2303067 in SPINK5 and rs490928 in CHI3L1). Rs2303067 in SPINK5 was significantly associated with early‐onset AD (≤8 years: p = .003; OR = 2.57) and was characterized by the need for hospitalization (p = .006; OR = 2.76), prolonged duration (≥10 years; p = .008; OR = 2.32) and more body parts affected (p = .015; OR = 2.01). In contrast, rs490928 in CHI3L1 was associated with late‐onset AD (>8 years: p = .048; OR = 1.65) and was characterized by no need for hospitalization (p = .049; OR = 1.59), shorter duration (<10 years; p = .017; OR = 1.94) and fewer body parts affected (p = .049; OR = 1.75). Our results confirmed that different AD phenotypes, specifically early‐ and late‐onset AD, have different genetic backgrounds. Early‐onset AD was associated with rs2303067 in SPINK5, which is involved in skin barrier functioning, and late‐onset was associated with rs4950928 in CHI3L1, which is involved in the immune response. Future studies should examine the early‐ versus late‐onset subgrouping more closely.
A systematic approach for an application of personnel selection in assembly line balancing problem
Authors: Efe Burak , Kurt Mustafa
Published: July 2017

This paper aims to present a novel systematic approach to personnel selection. The contributions of this paper are on the multicriteria decision‐making problem and the assembly line balancing problem related to personnel selection. This paper presents a novel method, which is the possibility degree based TOPSIS (technique for order preference by similarity to ideal solution) method with interval type‐2 trapezoidal fuzzy (IT2TrF) numbers, as an extension of the TOPSIS method for the personnel selection problem. This paper presents the possibility mean value and possibility degree measures instead of distance measures in current TOPSIS to define a comparative index. The closeness coefficient based on the possibility degree of each alternative is calculated according to the approximate positive and negative ideal solutions. The subjective judgments of the decision makers are aggregated to calculate the weights of the criteria. The weights based on the IT2TrF number are input into IT2TrF number based the TOPSIS phase to rank the alternatives. The proposed method is applied to evaluate the personnel selection in an assembly line of a textile firm after the closeness coefficient of each personnel is determined.
Expression of monoacylglycerol lipase as a marker of tumour invasion and progression in malignant melanoma
Authors: Baba Yuko , Funakoshi T. , Mori M. , Emoto K. , Masugi Y. , Ekmekcioglu S. , Amagai M. , Tanese K.
Published: July 2017

Background

Accumulating evidence suggests that the lipid lytic enzyme monoacylglycerol lipase (MAGL) promotes tumour invasion and metastasis through up‐regulation of pro‐tumorigenic signalling lipids in several tumour cell lines. However, the expression status of MAGL in clinical melanoma tissues and its clinicopathological significance remain unclear.

Objective

To correlate the tumour expression status of MAGL with the clinicopathological information of patients with malignant melanoma.

Methods

Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) array screening was performed, and the results were validated using immunocytochemical analysis of tumour and non‐tumour melanocytic cell lines. Immunohistochemical staining for MAGL was performed for 74 melanoma samples, including 48 primary and 26 metastatic tumours, in which the expression of MAGL was determined by evaluating the percentage of MAGL‐positive tumour cells and the MAGL staining intensity. Finally, we analysed the association of MAGL expression status with tumour progression, tumour thickness and vascular invasion of the primary lesion.

Results

Immunocytochemical analysis revealed that MAGL was expressed in all 12 melanoma cell lines, but not in normal human epidermal melanocytes. In the immunohistochemical analysis, positive staining for MAGL was noted in 32 of 48 (64.5%) primary lesions, 14 of 17 (82.4%) lymph node metastatic lesions and 7 of 9 (77.8%) skin metastatic lesions. Metastatic tumours had a significantly higher staining intensity (P = 0.033 for lymph node, P = 0.010 for skin). In the analysis of primary lesions, higher MAGL expression correlated with greater tumour thickness (P = 0.015) and the presence of vascular invasion (P = 0.017). On further evaluation of MAGL‐positive primary lesions, staining intensity of MAGL tended to be higher in deeper areas of the tumour mass.

Conclusions

The expression of MAGL in tumour cells reflects the aggressiveness of melanoma cells and may serve as a marker of tumour progression.
A potential contribution of psoriasin to vascular and epithelial abnormalities and inflammation in systemic sclerosis
Authors: Takahashi T. , Asano Y. , Yamashita T. , Nakamura K. , Saigusa R. , Miura S. , Ichimura Y. , Toyama T. , Hirabayashi M. , Taniguchi T. , Yoshizaki A. , Sato S.
Published: July 2017

Background

Antimicrobial peptides have attracted much attention as a member of disease‐associated molecules in systemic sclerosis (SSc), which is pathologically characterized by immune abnormalities, vasculopathy and tissue fibrosis.

Objective

To investigate the potential contribution of one of the antimicrobial peptide psoriasin to the development of SSc.

Methods

Psoriasin expression in the skin samples and sera derived from SSc patients and its correlation with clinical parameters were analysed. Psoriasin expression was evaluated by immunohistochemistry with skin samples from SSc patients and healthy controls. Serum levels of psoriasin were determined by enzyme‐linked immunosorbent assay in 51 SSc patients and 19 healthy controls and assessed for the association with clinical symptoms.

Results

The expression of psoriasin was elevated in the epidermis of SSc lesional skin. Serum psoriasin levels were higher in SSc patients, especially in diffuse cutaneous SSc patients with disease duration of <6 years, than in healthy controls. With respect to clinical association, SSc patients with interstitial lung disease, telangiectasia and pitting scars had significantly augmented levels of serum psoriasin than those without each of these symptoms. In the subgroup of patients with interstitial lung disease, the elevation of serum psoriasin levels was associated with higher ground‐glass opacity scores. Furthermore, serum psoriasin levels were decreased after the treatment with intravenous cyclophosphamide pulse as compared to baseline values.

Conclusion

Our findings indicate a possible contribution of psoriasin to the development of clinical symptoms associated with vascular and epithelial abnormalities and inflammation in SSc, further supporting the roles of antimicrobial peptides in the SSc pathogenesis.
Depression and suicidality in psoriasis: review of the literature including the cytokine theory of depression
Authors: Koo J. , Marangell L.B. , Nakamura M. , Armstrong A. , Jeon C. , Bhutani T. , Wu J.J.
Published: July 2017

Psoriasis can be a socially isolating disease due to debilitating physical symptoms and the stigma patients feel because of the appearance of their skin. Mental health comorbidities such as anxiety, depression and suicidal ideation and behaviour (SIB) are prevalent in patients with psoriasis. Patients with mild psoriasis can experience psychiatric comorbidities; however, disorders such as depression and SIB are more common in patients with severe psoriasis or psoriatic arthritis. Psychiatric disorders can both result from and contribute to progression of psoriasis, suggesting that psoriasis and psychiatric conditions, such as depression, may have overlapping biological mechanisms. Proinflammatory cytokines such as interleukin (IL)‐1 and IL‐6 are elevated in both psoriasis and depression, indicating that the inflammatory process may be involved in the progression of both diseases. Elevated cytokine levels in the central nervous system cause physiologic and biochemical changes that may contribute to the development of depression. In this review of the literature, we discuss the evidence that supports the association of psoriasis with mental health disorders and the tools used to detect the presence of these comorbidities. Additionally, we review the most prominent hypotheses on the mechanisms by which the inflammatory response and elevated cytokines can cause depression. These results highlight the role that systemic inflammation plays in the various mental health comorbidities associated with psoriasis, including depression and SIB.
Exclusive Gut Flagellates of Serritermitidae Suggest a Major Transfaunation Event in Lower Termites: Description of Heliconympha glossotermitis gen. nov. spec. nov.
Authors: Radek Renate , Meuser Katja , Strassert Jürgen F. H. , Arslan Oguzhan , Teßmer Anika , Šobotník Jan , Sillam‐Dussès David , Nink Ricardo A. , Brune Andreas
Published: July 2017

The guts of lower termites are inhabited by host‐specific consortia of cellulose‐digesting flagellate protists. In this first investigation of the symbionts of the family Serritermitidae, we found that Glossotermes oculatus and Serritermes serrifer each harbor similar parabasalid morphotypes: large Pseudotrichonympha‐like cells, medium‐sized Leptospironympha‐like cells with spiraled bands of flagella, and small Hexamastix‐like cells; oxymonadid flagellates were absent. Despite their morphological resemblance to Pseudotrichonympha and Leptospironympha, a SSU rRNA‐based phylogenetic analysis identified the two larger, trichonymphid flagellates as deep‐branching sister groups of Teranymphidae, with Leptospironympha sp. (the only spirotrichosomid with sequence data) in a moderately supported basal position. Only the Hexamastix‐like flagellates are closely related to trichomonadid flagellates from Rhinotermitidae. The presence of two deep‐branching lineages of trichonymphid flagellates in Serritermitidae and the absence of all taxa characteristic of the ancestral rhinotermitids underscores that the flagellate assemblages in the hindguts of lower termites were shaped not only by a progressive loss of flagellates during vertical inheritance but also by occasional transfaunation events, where flagellates were transferred horizontally between members of different termite families. In addition to the molecular phylogenetic analyses, we present a detailed morphological characterization of the new spirotrichosomid genus Heliconympha using light and electron microscopy.
Group Couples' Intervention to Improve Sexual Health Among Married Women in a Low‐Income Community in Mumbai, India
Authors: Maitra Shubhada , Schensul Stephen L. , Hallowell Benjamin D. , Brault Marie A. , Nastasi Bonnie K.
Published: July 2017

This article describes the design and implementation of a group couples' intervention focused on improving women's sexual health as a component of a multilevel community, clinical, and counseling intervention project conducted in association with a gynecological service in a municipal urban health center in a low‐income community in Mumbai, India. The group couples' intervention involved four single‐gender and two mixed‐gender sessions designed to address the dynamics of the marital relationship and establish a more equitable spousal relationship as a means to improve women's sexual and marital health. Involvement of men presented a major challenge to couple's participation. For those couples that did participate, qualitative findings revealed significant changes in couple and family relations, sexual health knowledge, and emotional well‐being.
Shaking Off Burdens – Debt Relief and Moral Intuitions
Authors: Chavanne David
Published: July 2017

Motivated by the prevalence of debt crises and the resulting policy debates, this study uses a vignette‐based survey to examine the moral intuitions that underlie debt‐related policy preferences. After reading a hypothetical scenario involving a debtor and a lender, survey respondents rate the degree of fairness that they attach to a third party's decision to allow debt relief. The experimental design varies (1) the responsibility of lenders and debtors in terms of whether their situations stem from bad luck or poor choices, (2) the salience of a lender's profit motive and (3) whether the debtor and the lender are individuals or corporations. The results show that debt relief is more likely to be found fair in a corporate context compared to a personalized context and that the factors that drive the perceived fairness of debt relief differ across corporate and personalized contexts. With corporate debt, debtor and lender responsibility are strongly, and consistently, linked to the perceived fairness of debt relief. With personalized debt, lender responsibility is never a significant driver of the perceived fairness of debt relief, and debtor responsibility only matters if the lender's profit motive is made salient.
Majority Rules in Constitutional Referendums
Authors: Michel Stephan , Cofone Ignacio N.
Published: July 2017

The paper addresses the divergence in majority rules at the moment of creating or reforming constitutions. While constitutions require, in most cases, qualified majorities in order to be approved at the constitutional assembly, they normally require only simple majorities to be ratified at the referendum. We analyze the set of conditions under which each majority rule is preferable for constitutional referendums. We argue that the simple majority requirement for referendums in constitution‐making, which is nearly universally used, lacks a clear theoretical justification. Qualified majority rules increase legitimacy and provide additional checks on the drafters. We further highlight when simple majority rules have advantages: when decision‐making costs in the referendum are high. Thereafter, we present an evaluation mechanism to identify the cases in which each majority rule should be used to increase stability and legitimacy. We then apply this evaluation mechanism to the constitution‐making processes in Poland, Bolivia and Egypt, which are three examples of diverging majority rules.
Fundamental Versus Granular Comparative Advantage: An Analysis Using Chess Data
Authors: Minondo Asier
Published: July 2017

The Ricardian and Heckscher‐Ohlin models of international trade contend that firms do not play any role in shaping countries' export specialization. However, the evidence shows that few firms dominate exports in many countries. This paper analyzes the relative contribution of fundamental (country) and granular (individual) comparative advantage to the differences in specialization across countries in a particular activity: chess. Using data on the quality of around 146,000 chess players in 106 countries in 2015, I find that fundamental comparative advantage is the main contributor to the variation in countries' specialization in chess. However, the contribution of granular comparative advantage becomes larger when analyzing specialization in very high‐quality chess players. Despite the appearance of chess servers that allow playing online and offer tools to improve chess skills, I do not find convergence in fundamental comparative advantage over the period 2001‐2015.
The Strategic Use of Scaffolded Instruction in Social Studies Interventions for Students with Learning Disabilities
Authors: Ciullo Stephen , Dimino Joseph A.
Published: July 2017

Several components of specialized instruction have historically influenced text‐based interventions for students with learning disabilities (LD). This article addresses the unique role of scaffolded instruction, focusing on supporting students with LD to help them to develop strategies that promote reading for understanding and writing in social studies. The article begins with a discussion of the historical and theoretical foundations of scaffolded instruction to promote reading comprehension. The authors then describe three effective interventions for which scaffolding cognitive strategies during social studies instruction have played a central role. Suggestions for using scaffolded instruction as a mechanism for improving social studies outcomes are included. Considerations for new research as well as professional development to promote scaffolded social studies instruction for students with LD are also described.
Legal reform need not come first: Merit‐based civil service management in law and practice
Authors: Schuster Christian
Published: July 2017

Introducing merit recruitment of public servants is a central good governance reform. To move towards merit in practice, legislation which mandates merit recruitment is considered a necessary but insufficient first step by many scholars and practitioners. Merit‐based civil service legislation should thus be sought before reform in practice. This article challenges this reasoning. It argues that merit laws are neither sufficient nor necessary: they leave the incumbent's possibility frontier for patronage and meritocracy in practice unaffected. Large‐ and small‐n evidence supports this assertion. Analyses of an original dataset of coded civil service legislation in 117 countries from 1975 to 2015 suggest that countries can attain meritocratic recruitment with and without legal merit requirements. Subsequently, a comparison of Paraguay and the Dominican Republic provides micro‐evidence for the underlying mechanism. Conventional wisdom about the sequencing of governance reforms in developing countries may thus be misleading: legal reform need not come first.
Postoperative complications in cirrhotic pediatric deceased donor liver transplantation: Focus on transfusion therapy
Authors: Nacoti M. , Cazzaniga S. , Colombo G. , Corbella D. , Fazzi F. , Fochi O. , Gattoni C. , Zambelli M. , Colledan M. , Bonanomi E.
Published: July 2017

Intraoperative transfusions seem associated with patient death and graft failure after PLTx. A retrospective analysis of recipients’ and donors’ characteristics and transplantation data in a cohort of patients undergoing PLTx from 2002 to 2013 at the Bergamo General Hospital was performed. A two‐stage hierarchical Cox proportional hazard regression with forward stepwise selection was used to identify the main risk factors for major complications. In addition, propensity score analysis was used to adjust risk estimates for possible selection biases in the use of blood products. Over the 12‐year period, 232 pediatric cirrhotic patients underwent PLTx. One‐year patient and graft survival rates were 92.3% and 83.7%, respectively. The Kaplan‐Meier shows that the main decrease in both graft and patient survival occurs during the first months post‐transplantation. At the same time, it appears that most of the complications occur during the first month post‐transplantation. One‐month and 1‐year patient complication‐free survival rates were 24.8% and 12.1%, respectively. Our study shows that intraoperative red blood cells and platelet transfusions are independent risk factors for developing one or more major complications in the first year after PLTx. Decreasing major complications will improve the health status and overall long‐term patient survival after pediatric PLTx.
Buddhism and animal ethics
Authors: Finnigan Bronwyn
Published: July 2017

This article provides a philosophical overview of some of the central Buddhist positions and arguments regarding animal welfare. It introduces the Buddha's teaching of ahiṃsā or nonviolence and rationally reconstructs five arguments from the context of early Indian Buddhism that aim to justify its extension to animals. These arguments appeal to the capacity and desire not to suffer, the virtue of compassion, as well as Buddhist views on the nature of self, karma, and reincarnation. This article also considers how versions of these arguments have been applied to address a practical issue in Buddhist ethics; whether Buddhists should be vegetarian.
Outside Color from Just Outside
Authors: Gert Joshua
Published: July 2017

Chirimuuta's view and my own are as close as they are because we both take two quite controversial stances: pragmatism as against a correspondence‐based view of perceptual success, and adverbialism as against a representational view of color experience. Unsurprisingly, of course, we do not understand these positions in precisely the same ways. In these comments I would like to see if I can persuade Chirimuuta to take two steps in my direction. The first step is to broaden her pragmatism so that it treats truth and accuracy in similar ways, for belief as well as perception, and for all sorts of properties. The second is to narrow her adverbialism so that it applies only to the fine‐grained appearances of the colors, and leaves aside the coarse‐grained colors themselves, which seem to remain as constant properties of objects, even as their appearances change.
M. Chirimuuta's Adverbialism about Color
Authors: Gupta Anil
Published: July 2017

M. Chirimuuta's Outside Color is a rich and lovely book. I enjoyed reading it and benefitted from reflecting on its provocative ideas. I begin by briefly placing the book's principal thesis in its historical context, and I go on to reflect on two objections that might be lodged against this thesis.
Realism, Relativism, Adverbialism: How Different are they? Comments on Mazviita Chirimuuta's Outside Color
Authors: Matthen Mohan
Published: July 2017

Mazviita Chirimuuta proposes a new “adverbialist” ontology of color. I argue that ontological disputes in the philosophy of color are uniformly terminological. Chirimuuta's proposal too is a terminological variant on others, though it has some hortatory value in directing attention to aspects of color science that have hitherto been neglected. On a side note, I also take issue with Chirimuuta's laudatory take on early modern theories of color (such as Descartes').