bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
150 years of research on Vierordt’s law - Fechner’s fault?
Authors: Glasauer Stefan , Shi Zhuanghua
Published: October 2018

150 years ago, the physiologist Karl Vierordt discovered one type of systematic errors in time perception – an overestimation of long durations and underestimation of short durations, now known as Vierordt’s law. Here we review the original study in its historical context and ask whether Vierordt’s law is a result of an unnatural experimental randomization protocol. Using iterative Bayesian updating, we simulated the original results with astonishing accuracy. To validate whether the experimental protocol matters, we compared duration reproduction from two sequences with the same sampled distribution and found that trial-wise variation determines the reproduction error. We conclude that Vierordt’s law is caused by an unnatural yet widely used experimental protocol.

One Sentence Summary

Probabilistic modeling reveals that a classical perceptual error - Vierordt’s law - is caused by an unnatural yet widely used experimental protocol.
Sequential digestion with Trypsin and Elastase in cross-linking/mass spectrometry
Authors: Dau Therese , Gupta Kapil , Berger Imre , Rappsilber Juri
Published: October 2018

Cross-linking/mass spectrometry has become an important approach for studying protein structures and protein-protein interactions. The amino acid composition of some protein regions impedes the detection of cross-linked residues, although it would yield invaluable information for protein modelling. Here, we report on a sequential digestion strategy with trypsin and elastase to penetrate regions with a low density of trypsin cleavage sites. We exploited intrinsic substrate recognition properties of elastase to specifically target larger tryptic peptides. Our application of this protocol to the TAF4-12 complex allowed us to identify cross-links in previously inaccessible regions.
Crystal structures of the [IrIII{C(C4H6O2)(dppm)-κ3
P,C,O}(dppm)H](CF3O3S)2 and [IrIII{C(C4H6O2)(dppm)-κ2
P,C}(CO)(dppm)H](CF3O3S)2 phosphorus ylide complexes, generated by a Wittig-type carbon–carbon coupling reaction of a carbodiphosphorane PCP ligand system
Authors: Schlapp-Hackl Inge , Pauer Bettina , Falschlunger Christoph , Schuh Walter , Kopacka Holger , Wurst Klaus , Peringer Paul
Published: October 2018

The reaction of [IrIII{C(dppm)2-κ3
P,C,P′}ClH(NH3C2)]Cl with ethyl diazoacetate, a well known C=C coupling reagent, leads to the formation of a C=C unit, accompanied by N2 abstraction, reorganization of a dppm subunit and, considered as a whole, to the transformation of the PCP pincer carbodiphosphorane system to a phosphorus ylide ligand. After removal of the halogenides, the iridium center is stabilized by the carbonyl O atom through the formation of a five-membered chelate ring. A PCO pincer ligand system is thereby generated, which coordinates the iridium(III) atom threefold in a facial manner. The phosphorus electron-donor atoms and the ylide carbon atom of the resulting [IrIII{C(C4H6O2)(dppm)-κ3
P,C,O}(dppm)H](CF3O3S)2 complex, also termed as [bis(diphenylphosphanyl)methane]({[(diphenylphosphanyl)methyl]diphenylphosphanylidene}(ethoxyoxoethanylidene)methanylidene-κ3
P,C,O)hydridoiridium(III) bis(trifluoromethanesulfonate), are in plane and the hydrido ligand and the carbonyl O atom are located trans to each other, perpendicular to the meridional plane. The addition of carbon monoxide causes a replacement of the carbonyl O atom of the acetate subunit by a carbonyl ligand, thereby creating [bis(diphenylphosphanyl)methane]carbonyl({[(diphenylphosphanyl)methyl]diphenylphosphanylidene}(ethoxyoxoethanylidene)methanylidene-κ2
P,C}hydridoiridium(III) bis(trifluoromethanesulfonate)–dichloromethane–ethyl acetate (6/2/3) or, more simply, [IrIII{C(C4H6O2)(dppm)-κ2
P,C}(CO)(dppm)H](CF3O3S)2·0.33CH2Cl2·0.5C4H8O2. One trifluoromethanesulfonate counter-ion of 3 shows positional disorder in a 2:1 ratio. Complex 4 shows pseudo-merohedral twinning (matrix: \overline{1} 0 0 0 \overline{1} 0 1 0 1). The dichloromethane solvent is disordered over two orientations with occupation factors of 0.5 and 0.166.
Distinctions and boundaries: men’s talk about food celebrities
Authors: Neuman Nicklas , Gottzén Lucas , Fjellström Christina
Published: October 2018

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to explore how a group of men relate to food celebrities in the contemporary Swedish food-media landscape, especially celebrity chefs on TV.

Design/methodology/approach

Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 31 men in Sweden (22–88 years of age), with different backgrounds and with a variety of interest in food.

Findings

The paper demonstrates different ways in which the men relate to food celebrities. The men produce cultural distinctions of taste and symbolic boundaries, primarily related to gender and age, but also class. Through this, a specific position of “just right” emerged. This position is about aversion to excess, such as exaggerated gendered performances or pretentious forms of cooking. One individual plays a particularly central role in the stories: Actor and Celebrity Chef Per Morberg. He comes across as a complex cultural figure: a symbol of slobbish and tasteless cooking and a symbol of excess. At the same time, he is mentioned as the sole example of the exact opposite – as a celebrity chef who represents authenticity.

Practical implications

Scholars and policy makers must be careful of assuming culinary or social influence on consumers from food celebrities simply based on their media representations. As shown here and in similar studies, people relate to them and interpret their performances in a variety of ways.

Originality/value

This is one of the few studies that target the role of food celebrities in contemporary Western consumer culture from the point of view of the consumers rather than analyses of media representations.
Critical success factors for facility management employer’s information requirements (EIR) for BIM
Authors: Ashworth Simon , Tucker Matthew , Druhmann Carsten K.
Published: October 2018

Purpose

This paper aims to describe the development and testing of an employer’s information requirements (EIR) template and guidance document designed to meet client and facility management (FM) needs in the building information modelling (BIM) process.

Design/methodology/approach

A qualitative design approach was used and triangulation of methods which included a focus group with the British Institute of Facilities Management (BIFM), semi-structured interviews with the case study Glasgow Life Burrell Renaissance Project who trialled the EIR and peer-reviews and interviews with BIM/CAFM experts from the BIM Academy and FM180.

Findings

Specific guidance to help clients and facility managers prepare key BIM documents like the EIR are needed. They are aware of industry BIM standards and guidance but often not in detail. The Glasgow Life case study illustrated the EIR as a useful collaboration-tool to bring together stakeholders in early planning stages to understand client information needs.

Social implications

Assets and buildings account for most of the energy and material use in society. A well-structured EIR will help ensure the right information is available to enable optimisation of running costs and utility-use over their whole life, thus contributing to long-term sustainability.

Originality/value

This paper provides a new EIR template and guidance document ideal for practitioners in industry as a practical starting point to plan the client information requirements for BIM projects. It can be downloaded atwww.bifm.org.uk/bifm/knowledge.
Educational mismatch in Europe at the turn of the century
Authors: Muñoz de Bustillo Llorente Rafael , Sarkar Sudipa , Sebastian Raquel , Antón Jose-Ignacio
Published: October 2018

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to present the stylised facts of over-education among European graduates over time (1998–2013), paying special attention to the measurement issues.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors use two different sources, the Programme for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies 2012, and the European Union Labour Force Survey 1998–2013, with two different aims. The authors employ the first one to make a detailed analysis of the different forms of measuring over-education and its implications in terms of the result obtained. The analysis of the second one responds to studying the evolution and characteristics of over-education in Europe.

Findings

In the first place, the paper provides evidence of the high level of sensitivity of the level of measured over-education to the type of methodology used. Such difference is even higher when the authors focus on skills vs educational mismatch. The work also shows how with all their shortcomings, the measures of over-education used in the analysis point to the existence of convergence in over-education levels among the European countries of the sample (only interrupted by the crisis), in a context of reduction of over-education rates in many countries.

Practical implications

Researchers should be particularly careful when estimating over-education, because of the strong implications in terms of the so different results obtained when choosing between competing methods.

Originality/value

The analysis abounds in the implications of the use of different methodologies of estimating over-education in terms of both size and ranking among European countries. The production of long-run and updated estimates of over-education for a large sample of countries is done using a homogenous database and different estimation methods.
Skill mismatch comparing educational requirements vs attainments by occupation
Authors: Tijdens Kea , Beblavý Miroslav , Thum-Thysen Anna
Published: October 2018

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to overcome the problems that skill mismatch cannot be measured directly and that demand side data are lacking. It relates demand and supply side characteristics by aggregating data from jobs ads and jobholders into occupations. For these occupations skill mismatch is investigated by focussing on demand and supply ratios, attained vis-à-vis required skills and vacancies’ skill requirements in relation to the demand-supply ratios.

Design/methodology/approach

Vacancy data from the EURES job portal and jobholder data from WageIndicator web-survey were aggregated by ISCO 4-digit occupations and merged in a database with 279 occupations for Czech Republic, being the only European country with disaggregated occupational data, coded educational data, and sufficient numbers of observations.

Findings

One fourth of occupations are in excessive demand and one third in excessive supply. The workforce is overeducated compared to the vacancies’ requirements. A high demand correlates with lower educational requirements. At lower occupational skill levels requirements are more condensed, but attainments less so. At higher skill levels, requirements are less condensed, but attainments more so. Educational requirements are lower for high demand occupations.

Research limitations/implications

Using educational levels is a limited proxy for multidimensional skills. Higher educated jobholders are overrepresented.

Practical implications

In Europe labour market mismatches worry policy makers and Public Employment Services alike.

Originality/value

The authors study is the first for Europe to explore such a granulated approach of skill mismatch.
Estimating the size of the black economy: new evidence from India
Authors: Sharma Chandan
Published: October 2018

Purpose

The issue of black economy has long been debated in India and it has been one of the key targets of policy action from last four decades. The debate is further fueled by demonetization of higher currency notes in the country. In this context, the purpose of this paper is to estimate the size of black economy in India for the period 1970–2017.

Design/methodology/approach

A currency demand approach is adopted for this purpose. The test of structure break indicates for a break in the system; therefore, the authors employ Johansenet al.(2000) cointegration test. For estimating the empirical model, the authors utilize fully modified ordinary least squares in a cointegration framework for taking care the endogeneity problem.

Findings

The estimates indicate that the Indian economy has a sizable black economy. In early 1970s, when the tax rate in India was significantly higher, the estimated black economy was above 30 percent of the official GDP. A variety of economic reforms including taxation, regulation and industrial licensing have drastically reduced the size to below 15 percent of official GDP in the last two decades. In the last estimated year (2017), the black economy was 23,849bn Indian rupees at current market price (around $400bn), which was 14 percent of the official GDP.

Practical implications

On the basis of the findings, the authors suggest some important fiscal, administrative and regulatory reforms to curb the generation of black economy in India.

Originality/value

The structural breaks can induce stochastic behavior similar to an integrated process, which makes it difficult to differentiate between the lack of cointegration and a structural shift. Thus, in the present study, the authors attempt to address this issue by incorporating the issue of structural break in the analysis. Furthermore, India is a cash-based economy; therefore, it is likely that currency-based models are more suitable. The application of advanced time-series techniques is likely to yield better and robust results.
The economic determinants of the implied volatility function for currency options
Authors: Bhat Aparna Prasad
Published: October 2018

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to ascertain the pattern of the implied volatility function for currency options traded on the National Stock Exchange of India (NSE), identify its potential determinants and to investigate any seasonality in the pattern.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper examines four different specifications for the implied volatility smile of exchange-traded dollar-rupee options. These specifications are tested by running Ordinary Least Squares (OLS) regressions on a daily basis for all options over the entire sample period. Seven potential determinants for the shape of the volatility function are identified. Contemporaneous and lead-lag relationships between these determinants and the shape of the volatility function are examined using OLS and multivariate VAR. Impulse response functions are employed to test the strength and persistence of the lead-lag relations. Seasonality of the smile pattern is tested using OLS.

Findings

The study shows that the implied volatility function for dollar-rupee options is asymmetric and varies with the time to maturity of the option. Historical volatility, momentum and jumps in the exchange rate, time to maturity, traded volume of options and volatility in the stock market appear to Granger-cause the shape of the volatility smile. Feedback causality is observed from the shape of the smile to the volatility, momentum and jumps in the exchange rate and trading volume of currency options. A weak day-of-the-week effect is observed in the pattern of the volatility smile.

Practical implications

The study sheds light on the potential determinants of the smile and highlights the predictive power of the smile which findings can be useful to market practitioners for pricing and hedging of dollar-rupee options. The study has strong practical implications during a period of increased volatility in the dollar-rupee pair.

Originality/value

Most of the existing literature regarding implied volatility smiles has focused either on the volatility smile of US equity index options or that of major liquid currencies. There is a need for such studies in the context of options on emerging market currencies such as the Indian rupee which are characterized by thin trading and frequent central bank intervention and signaling. To the best of the author’s knowledge this study is the first to focus on the volatility smile of exchange-traded options on the US dollar–Indian rupee.
The transition probabilities for inflation episodes in Ghana
Authors: Adom Philip Kofi , Agradi Mawunyo Prosper , Quaidoo Christopher
Published: October 2018

Purpose

Following the reforms in monetary policy and shift in fiscal policies, it is logical to presume that these reforms may cause a significant structural change in the dynamic processes of inflation and hence affect the nature of inflation persistence. The purpose of this paper is to examine the persistence nature of the different inflation episodes while controlling for the effects of demand- and supply-side factors, which are modeled as regime-dependent.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper used the Markov-switching dynamic regression and annual time series data.

Findings

The results showed that high inflation regime is more persistent than low inflation regime, with a respective average duration of an escape of 3.5 and 2.57 years, which suggests that price stability achievements are less sustainable. In both regimes, demand- and supply-side factors play significant roles in driving inflation, but the effect of the latter dominates. Thus, on the argument of whether inflation in Ghana is structural or monetary, the results support the former. The roles of both structural and monetary factors have changed over time, but that of the former has been more significant and important in Ghana.

Originality/value

This study provides the first empirical attempt, in the case of Ghana, that examines the persistence nature of different inflation regimes, while modeling the effects of supply and demand factors as regime dependent. In the modeling sense, the authors also contribute by ruling out the assumption that the researcher knows the processes responsible for each observation at each point in time.
Hong Kong, a gateway for mainland China? Examining the impact of luxury fashion retailers’ ownership structures on expansion strategies
Authors: Bai Huifeng , McColl Julie , Moore Christopher
Published: October 2018

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine luxury fashion retailers’ ownership structures at their internationalisation strategies in Hong Kong and mainland China.

Design/methodology/approach

This study adopts a pragmatic mixed methods approach, comprising a quantitative mail survey and ten qualitative executive interviews.

Findings

This study found that group-owned luxury fashion retailers usually encounter fewer difficulties when internationalising into mainland China than their individually owned counterparts because of parenting advantage, particularly functional and service support. However, the success of some individually owned brands has demonstrated that branding strategies, management culture, international experience, financial power and local partners’ know-how are as important as parent company support and although the luxury market in mainland China has become developed, many foreign luxury fashion retailers still enter Hong Kong prior to mainland China. However, in relation to post-entry management and expansion strategies, the importance of Hong Kong has weakened because the emergence of capital cities, the growth of the middle class and fewer political restrictions.

Research limitations/implications

The research findings are generated in the context of Hong Kong and mainland China, they are therefore limited in explaining luxury fashion retailers’ internationalisation strategies in other markets. Despite the challenge of the sample size, 63 out of 130 survey respondents (48.5 per cent response rate) and ten interview participants are felt to be sufficient to represent the market.

Practical implications

This research can be used by practitioners when assessing appropriate entry strategies to the Chinese luxury fashion market.

Originality/value

This is a pioneering study of the Chinese luxury market from the perspective of international retail strategies. It differentiates between Greater China (including Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan) and mainland China, and examines the impact of luxury fashion retailers’ ownership structures on their internationalisation strategies.
Customer expectations and moderating role of demographics in fresh food retail
Authors: Antony Rose , Khanapuri Vivekanand B. , Jain Karuna
Published: October 2018

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to identify the dimensions of customer expectations and study the moderating role of demographics in the context of fresh food retail.

Design/methodology/approach

A structured questionnaire was designed using extant literature review followed by expert opinions. The survey was conducted among the customers in the twin cities of Maharashtra in India. The factors of customer expectations were identified using exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and further confirmed using confirmatory factor analysis in SPSS and AMOS, respectively. The significance of the customer expectations on customer satisfaction was studied using structural equation modeling. Subsequently, the role of demographics was studied using two-step cluster analysis and multigroup moderation.

Findings

During EFA three factors emerged, namely, product-related features, in-store quality and store support services. Structural model evaluation found product-related features and in-store quality significantly influencing the customer satisfaction, while store support services were found as a non-significant factor in the region studied. Further, using cluster analysis customers were segregated into three groups, namely, traditional, autonomous and premium customers, where the premium customers were found to prefer the store support services on a higher scale, and similar results were obtained using multigroup moderation. Demographics, namely, gender, age, respondents’ income and marital status moderated for product-related features and in-store quality. Interestingly, respondents’ income also moderated for the store support services.

Practical implications

The findings provide directions for store managers of the fresh food category to align supply chain decisions with the unique requirements of customers considering their socio-economic characteristics.

Originality/value

On the basis of social exchange theory, the authors found that in a mutually beneficial relationship, concerning the value proposition, retailers need to address the requirement of the different income group customers for store support services.
The growing use of robots by the aerospace industry
Authors: Bogue Robert
Published: October 2018

Purpose

This paper aims to provide details of the growing uses of robots by the aerospace industry.

Design/methodology/approach

Following an introduction, this paper discusses and highlights the benefits of the following robotic applications and technologies: drilling and riveting; painting and stripping; composite structure manufacture; three-dimensional printing; and in-service engine inspection. Finally, brief conclusions are drawn.

Findings

Robots are increasingly being used by the aerospace sector in a diversity of applications. They confer a number of significant benefits including reduced costs, manpower and timescales, improved quality and novel manufacturing capabilities. The market is forecast for rapid growth as new applications emerge.

Originality/value

This paper illustrates the growing importance of robots in the aerospace sector.
What makes Jordanian residents buy smart home devices?
Authors: Mashal Ibrahim , Shuhaiber Ahmed
Published: October 2018

Purpose

Smart homes are recent Internet of Things applications that aim to improve residents’ quality of life. Despite its potential, the adoption of smart homes, in general, and its devices and appliances, in specific, is not reaching a mass market yet. This study aims to investigate the factors that influence residents’ intention to buy smart homes devices in Jordan.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper proposes a novel model to study users’ intention to buy smart homes devices by following a quantitative method. Responses were collected and statistically analyzed from 375 households using structural equation modeling.

Findings

Results show that user awareness, perceived cost, perceived enjoyment, personalization, user trust and social influences significantly influence the intention to buy smart home devices.

Originality/value

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this paper is the first study attempts to predict intention to buy smart home devices in Jordan. The findings provide meaningful implications for smart home devices providers.
Enriching library user’s experience with Evernote
Authors: Siddaiah Dinesh K.
Published: October 2018

Purpose

Digital information management tools (DIMTs) are used widely for varieties of digital information management. In academics, these tools are being used for the advancement of student productivity, research data management, research consultation, etc. The libraries of universities and institutions use DIMTs for organizing and retrieving varieties of digital information.

Design/methodology/approach

The author studied the various emerging DIMTs and picked Evernote for further study based on the popularity and usage of the tool in the academic system.

Findings

This paper explains how and to what extent Evernote can be used as a DIMT in academics and in the digital library management. Evernote is one of the best options for implementation in the library, especially to train the students to use and enrich their academic and research experience. Evernote definitely adds value to the libraries.

Originality/value

It is found from the study that, Evernote is very handy in handling the research consultation service and manage research projects in libraries.
A review of computational modeling in powder-based additive manufacturing for metallic part qualification
Authors: Liu Jingfu , Jalalahmadi Behrooz , Guo Y.B. , Sealy Michael P. , Bolander Nathan
Published: October 2018

Purpose

Additive manufacturing (AM) is revolutionizing the manufacturing industry due to several advantages and capabilities, including use of rapid prototyping, fabrication of complex geometries, reduction of product development cycles and minimization of material waste. As metal AM becomes increasingly popular for aerospace and defense original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), a major barrier that remains is rapid qualification of components. Several potential defects (such as porosity, residual stress and microstructural inhomogeneity) occur during layer-by-layer processing. Current methods to qualify AM parts heavily rely on experimental testing, which is economically inefficient and technically insufficient to comprehensively evaluate components. Approaches for high fidelity qualification of AM parts are necessary.

Design/methodology/approach

This review summarizes the existing powder-based fusion computational models and their feasibility in AM processes through discrete aspects, including process and microstructure modeling.

Findings

Current progresses and challenges in high fidelity modeling of AM processes are presented.

Originality/value

Potential opportunities are discussed toward high-level assurance of AM component quality through a comprehensive computational tool.
Understanding therapeutic massage as a form of bodywork: knowing and working on the (energy) body
Authors: Lea Jennifer
Published: October 2018

Bodywork – as work which takes the body as its immediate site of labour – includes forms of service work, healthcare and caring. While work on bodywork has undeniably foregrounded the body, at the same time it has worked with a relatively limited understanding of bodily knowledges and practices. This article uses a theoretical framework taken from writing on Non‐Representational Theory, by Human Geographers, in order to take seriously ‘alternative’ body knowledge such as energy. The article draws on data from in‐depth interviews conducted with therapeutic massage practitioners in order to take seriously the ways in which energy directs and shapes the work that these bodyworkers do, adding new empirical understandings of what working with energy entails. It makes a broader conceptual contribution to bodywork literatures, advocating the importance of extending analysis beyond social constructionist approaches and questioning the taken‐for‐granted understandings of materiality that are most often drawn upon in order to attend to the kinds of knowledge that are less easy to formalise, anomalous, or that push at the fringes of the definite or the limits of the believable, but which are nonetheless central to many different kinds of bodywork contemporarily.
Restaging Mafeking in Muswell Hill: performing patriotism and charitability in London's Boer War carnivals*
Authors: Georgiou Dion
Published: October 2018

This article examines attitudes to the Boer War – and nationhood and empire more broadly – through the prism of carnivals held in London in 1900 to raise money for the Daily Telegraph's fund for combatants' widows and orphans. Drawing on detailed press coverage of these events and the rhetoric surrounding them, it highlights how the carnivals and their rationale offered a point of consensus around which participating individuals and organizations with differing stances on the conflict could rally and express gendered national and imperial identities, as well as opportunities for accruing political, economic and social capital.
Why Do Individual Investors Disregard Accounting Information? The Roles of Information Awareness and Acquisition Costs
Authors: BLANKESPOOR ELIZABETH , DEHAAN ED , WERTZ JOHN , ZHU CHRISTINA
Published: October 2018

We investigate the frictions that impede individual investors’ use of accounting information and, in particular, their costs of monitoring and acquiring accounting disclosures. We do so using an archival setting in which individuals are presented with automated media articles that report both current earnings news and past stock returns. Although these investors have earnings information readily available, we find no evidence that their trades incorporate it. Instead we find that their trading responds to the trailing stock returns presented in the articles. Our study raises questions about the efficacy of regulations that aim to aid less sophisticated investors by increasing their awareness of and access to accounting information.
Discretion and the erosion of community trust in planning: reflections on the post‐political
Authors: Kwok Melanie , Johnson Laurel , Pojani Dorina
Published: October 2018

In this study, performance‐based planning is implicated in the destabilisation of community trust in the planning system. Set in a contested inner city area of Brisbane, Australia, the research associates neoliberal planning objectives with the discretionary decision‐making specifically embedded in performance‐based planning. The neoliberalisation of planning is, we submit, symptomatic of a post‐ideological politics of consensus that actually erodes properly political moments and renders the political merely administrative. We explore these matters by reference to a particular case study involving a spatial planning project that resulted in height and density being extended to unprecedented levels, and competitive economic value and city branding being prioritised over the local value of the place. This discretionary action, limited formal participation opportunities, and existing low levels of community trust motivated local residents to mobilise against the plan and design alternatives. To understand the role of trust and participation in performance‐based planning, both in this case and more generally, a number of stakeholders were interviewed and surveyed to gather their views on participation, trust, and discretion in planning, and on the performance‐based planning system. A surprising research finding is that many stakeholders expressed trust in planning professionals but distrust in the planning system in which planners operate, and they did so on the understanding that the system gives unfettered priority to economic growth objectives.
A comparative evaluation of two working length determination methods
Authors: Keratiotis Georgios , Kournetas Nikolaos , Agrafioti Anastasia , Kontakiotis Evangelos G.
Published: October 2018

The purpose of this study was to explore the level of agreement between the radiographic and the electronic apex locator (EAL) working length assessment methods, amongst teeth with different diagnoses. Working length measurements along with pulpal and periapical diagnoses data were collected from the Patient Registry Database of our Institution. The null hypothesis of this study was that pulp status does not affect the level of agreement between the two methods. The degree of agreement was assessed using the Bland–Altman method, followed by a Kruskal–Wallis test (a = 5%) that would allow the null hypothesis to be accepted. The EAL measurements agree in general with those provided by a 1.5 mm file placed coronal to the radiographic apex amid teeth with different pulpal diagnoses. Within the limitations of this study, we suggest that this setting (i.e. the distance) may be applied to all cases of endodontically treated teeth, despite the differences in pulpal diagnosis.
Bone Marrow Mesenchymal Stem Cells Accelerate the Morphological and Functional Recovery of Neovaginas
Authors: Zhang Ning , Qin Xijing , Zhang Jingkun , Zhang Zhiqiang , Li Yanan , Xie Yanling , Kong Desheng , Du Runxuan , Huang Xianghua , Xu Yanfang
Published: October 2018

Vaginal reconstruction is the main solution to the problem of sexuality and gender roles for patients with no vagina. A tissue‐engineered vagina may be the best choice. However, many defects have been found in neovaginas reconstructed with a graft only. In this study, we investigated whether a stem cell‐seeded graft would accelerate the morphological and functional recovery of neovaginas. CM‐DiI‐labeled bone marrow mesenchymal stem cell (MSC)‐seeded small intestinal submucosa (SIS) (SIS+MSCs group) was used for vaginal reconstruction in a rat model; unseeded SIS (SIS group) was used as a control. The neovaginas of each group were harvested at 4 and 12 weeks after surgery. Morphological analyses were performed using hematoxylin and eosin (H&E) staining and immunohistochemical staining for α‐smooth muscle actin (SMA), protein gene product 9.5(PGP9.5), and CD34. Functional recovery was evaluated using an organ bath study. The role of MSCs in the neovagina was analyzed by immunofluorescence and molecular biology methods. At the 4th week, a regenerated epithelium covered the whole neovagina in both groups. A small amount of smooth muscle regeneration was found in the neovagina. Up to the 12th week, nerve fibers appeared. There were more smooth muscle and nerve fibers, along with better contractility, in the neovagina of the SIS+MSCs group. Further study showed that the MSCs differentiated into smooth muscles at the 4th week. A higher microvessel density (MVD) and more vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) were found in the neovagina of the SIS+MSCs group. In short, MSCs accelerate the structural and functional recovery of the neovagina.
Severe perineal trauma among women undergoing vaginal birth after cesarean delivery: A population‐based cohort study
Authors: Elvander Charlotte , Ahlberg Mia , Edqvist Malin , Stephansson Olof
Published: October 2018

Background

To examine risk of severe perineal trauma among nulliparous women and those undergoing vaginal birth after cesarean delivery (VBAC).

Methods

This is a population‐based cohort study of all births to women with their two first consecutive singleton pregnancies in Stockholm‐Gotland Sweden between 2008 and 2014. Risk of severe perineal trauma was compared between nulliparous women and those undergoing VBAC with severe perineal trauma being the main outcome measure. Associations between indication and timing of primary cesarean delivery and risk of severe perineal trauma in subsequent vaginal birth were analyzed using Poisson regression analysis.

Results

The rate of severe perineal trauma among nulliparous women and those undergoing VBAC was 7.0% and 12.3%, respectively. Compared with nulliparous women, those undergoing VBAC were significantly older, had a shorter stature, and gave birth in a non‐upright position to heavier infants with larger head circumferences. The rate of instrumental vaginal delivery among nulliparous women and those undergoing VBAC was 19.3% and 20.2%, respectively (P = 0.331). An increased risk of severe perineal trauma remained after adjustments among those undergoing VBAC (adjusted risk ratio 1.42, 95% CI 1.23‐1.63). Level of risk was not associated with indication (dystocia or signs of fetal distress) of primary cesarean delivery, nor how far the woman had progressed in labor (fully dilated versus planned cesarean delivery) before delivering by cesarean.

Conclusions

Compared with nulliparous women, those undergoing VBAC are at increased risk of severe perineal trauma, irrespective of indication and timing of primary cesarean delivery.
“Struggling to Remain Relevant”: Why and How Radicalization Was Impeded in the Struggle against the Gaza Pullout
Authors: Alimi Eitan Y.
Published: October 2018

The role of cognitive mechanisms in processes of radicalization cannot be overestimated. However, focusing solely on violence‐prone values and ideologies without examining how they gain and lose consequentiality in the context of relational dynamics, hampers our understanding of the shift from support for, to actual engagement in political violence. Using a case of nonradicalization—the predominantly nonviolent struggle of Jewish settlers against the Gaza Pullout (2004 to 2005)—this paper accounts for the process whereby despite the presence of violence‐prone values and ideologies we observe little engagement in political violence. Findings from a mechanism‐based, mixed‐method design that includes content analysis, in‐depth interviews, network analysis, and contention‐repression data, reveal how the combined operation of the reversals of relational mechanisms mitigate the salience of cognitive mechanisms and, consequently, impede radicalization on the part of militant Jewish settler organizations. The contributions of the findings to a relational theory of radicalization are discussed in the conclusion.
Application of next‐generation sequencing technologies to conservation of wood‐inhabiting fungi
Authors: Purahong Witoon , Wubet Tesfaye , Krüger Dirk , Buscot François
Published: October 2018

Next‐generation sequencing (NGS) has significantly increased knowledge of microbial communities and their distribution. However, it is still not common to apply NGS technology to microbial conservation. We sought to use NGS technologies to evaluate conservation strategies for wood‐inhabiting fungi. Evaluating a deadwood experiment 3 years after it was established, we specifically examined which tree species combinations promoted the highest richness of wood‐inhabiting fungi. Deadwood enrichment was an effective strategy and logs of 6 tree species, either those with the highest wood‐inhabiting fungal α and γ diversity or those with the highest β diversity, maintained >1,000 operational taxonomic units (OTUs) spread over a wide range of taxonomic groups. In comparison, a conservation strategy based only on the results of sporocarp surveys yielded 591 OTUs. This result highlights the need to use NGS approaches to inform microbial conservation strategies. We also determined that 5 tree species with the highest saproxylic beetle γ diversity simultaneously conserved wood‐inhabiting fungi. Apart from deadwood volume, we suggest data on deadwood quality and species also be included as indicators, especially for wood‐inhabiting fungal diversity, and incorporated quickly in forest assessment and monitoring systems in Central Europe.
Level of knowledge among pharmacists regarding anaphylaxis and the use of epinephrine autoinjectors
Authors: Worm Margitta , Molaie Novin , Dölle Sabine
Published: October 2018

Background

Epinephrine autoinjectors for intramuscular administration are the treatment of choice for self‐medicating severe allergic reactions. Data from the anaphylaxis registry shows that patients rarely use their epinephrine pens. Pharmacists play a key role as liaison between prescribers and patients.

Patients and methods

Using a standardized questionnaire, the objective of the present study was to assess the level of knowledge among pharmacists regarding anaphylaxis and its treatment. Data derived from 213 pharmacists was included in the study.

Results

Our data reveals that pharmacists consider anaphylaxis to be a disorder that is associated with an impairment in quality of life. The most common triggers of anaphylaxis according to pharmacists (insect venom, foods, and drugs) correspond to those listed in the anaphylaxis registry. Based on the survey, pharmacists readily recognize anaphylactic reactions from case descriptions. However, there are still knowledge deficits with respect to the management of anaphylaxis and current guidelines.

Conclusions

Our findings suggest that the level of knowledge among pharmacists with regard to anaphylaxis warrants improvement. As this professional group plays a crucial part in the care of patients with allergic disorders, future measures should be aimed at strengthening this role by raising awareness and introducing training modules.
Grazing networks promote plant functional connectivity among isolated grassland communities
Authors: Plue Jan , Aavik Tsipe , Cousins Sara A. O
Published: October 2018

Aim

Habitat loss threatens plant diversity globally. Lack of plant functional connectivity between isolated populations is often pinpointed as one of the major underlying mechanisms driving subsequent species extinctions. Therefore, landscape‐scale conservation management promoting functional connectivity needs to be implemented urgently. Supporting the movement of seed dispersal vectors such as grazing animals may help safeguard local and regional plant diversity in fragmented landscapes. However, the efficacy of such management remains to be thoroughly assessed.

Location

Stockholm archipelago, Sweden.

Methods

We test how grazing animals may serve as mobile corridors within rotational grazing networks promoting plant functional connectivity via directed seed dispersal. Using landscape genetics, we compare isolated populations of the grassland perennial Campanula rotundifolia located in either active or abandoned grazing networks, to test if spatial patterns in their genetic diversity, differentiation and allele frequencies relate to the presence or absence of connectivity via rotational grazing management.

Results

Grazing networks imprinted strong landscape‐scale spatial patterning in pairwise population genetic differentiation and within‐population genetic diversity. Isolated C. rotundifolia populations functionally connected by grazing animals held higher genetic diversity compared to populations no longer connected by grazing livestock. Gene flow linked to the directed seed dispersal was higher between populations within grazing networks, confirmed by their increased allele richness. We found a predictable, nested loss of genetic diversity among C. rotundifolia populations in abandoned grazing networks.

Main conclusions

Grazing animals were important seed dispersal vectors, functionally connecting isolated grassland communities, so being vital to the successful long‐term persistence and conservation of not only species but also genetic diversity. Crucially, the study underlines the possibilities of using domestic livestock as mobile corridors within rotational grazing networks as an effective tool to manage, conserve and restore both genetic and species diversity among isolated plant communities in fragmented landscapes.
Testing for moderate explosiveness
Authors: Guo Gangzheng , Sun Yixiao , Wang Shaoping
Published: October 2018

This paper considers a moderately explosive AR(1) process where the autoregressive root approaches unity from the right at a certain rate. We first develop a test for the null of moderate explosiveness under independent and identically distributed errors. We show that the t statistic is asymptotically standard normal regardless of whether the true process is dominated by the stochastic moderately explosive trend or the deterministic nonlinear drift trend. This result is in sharp contrast with the existing literature, wherein nonstandard limiting distributions are obtained under different model assumptions. When the errors are weakly dependent, we show that the t statistic based on a heteroskedasticity and autocorrelation robust standard error follows Student’s t distribution in large samples. Monte Carlo simulations show that our tests have satisfactory size and power performances in finite samples. Applying the asymptotic t test to ten major stock indexes in the pre-2008 financial exuberance period, we find that most indexes are only mildly explosive or not explosive at all, which implies that the bout of the irrational rise was not as serious as previously thought.
Writing proficiency profiles of heritage learners of Chinese, Korean, and Spanish
Authors: Gatti Alberta , O'Neill Teresa
Published: October 2018

This article describes what Intermediate and Advanced heritage language learners of Mandarin Chinese, Korean, and Spanish can do when writing in their heritage language, and what prevents these writers from performing at the next proficiency level. One hundred eighty‐seven samples were collected using the ACTFL Writing Proficiency Test. Each sample is analyzed employing a review form through which floor and ceiling criteria are identified, and the strengths and weaknesses of writing while attempting next‐level functions are made evident. The proficiency profiles resulting from this analysis are used to propose pedagogical practices in support of literacy development.
MultiLevel Modeling of Space–Time Variations: Exploring Landslide Voting Patterns at United States Presidential Elections, 1992–2016
Authors: Johnston Ron , Jones Kelvyn , Manley David
Published: October 2018

Much has been written about the polarization of the American electorate and its reflection in its legislatures, but less about its spatial polarization, which Bishop has argued has taken place in parallel with the ideological and behavioral polarization. The extent of that polarization can be assessed, he argues, by identifying the number of landslide counties, those won at presidential elections by margins of 20 percentage points or more. This paper uses a multilevel modeling strategy to explore changes in the number and extent of those landslide counties over the period 1992–2016, relative to both the location of the counties and their population composition. It shows that a county’s population composition was a major determinant of whether it returned a landslide for either party’s candidate at any election—with a clear change in direction over the period for counties according to their level of affluence—but this was by no means the sole determinant. Holding constant those variations there were additional geographies that were more place‐ than people‐specific.