bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Neuromodulation Influences Synchronization and Intrinsic Read-out
Authors: Scheler Gabriele
Published: January 2018

The roles of neuromodulation in a neural network, such as in a cortical microcolumn, are still incompletely understood. Neuromodulation influences neural processing by presynaptic and postsynaptic regulation of synaptic efficacy. Synaptic efficacy modulation can be an effective way to rapidly alter network density and topology. We show that altering network topology, together with density, will affect its synchronization. Fast synaptic efficacy modulation may therefore influence the amount of correlated spiking in a network. Neuromodulation also affects ion channel regulation for intrinsic excitability, which alters the neuron’s activation function. We show that synchronization in a network influences the read-out of these intrinsic properties. Highly synchronous input drives neurons, such that differences in intrinsic properties disappear, while asynchronous input lets intrinsic properties determine output behavior. Thus, altering network topology can alter the balance between intrinsically vs. synaptically driven network activity. We conclude that neuromodulation may allow a network to shift between a more synchronized transmission mode and a more asynchronous intrinsic read-out mode.
Interaction of septin 7 and DOCK8 in equine lymphocytes reveals novel insights into signaling pathways associated with autoimmunity
Authors: Schauer Melanie , Kleinwort Kristina J H , Degroote Roxane L , Wiedemann Carmen , Kremmer Elisabeth , Hauck Stefanie M , Deeg Cornelia A
Published: January 2018

The GTP-binding protein septin 7 is involved in various cellular processes, including cytoskeleton organization, migration and the regulation of cell shape. Septin 7 function in lymphocytes, however, is poorly characterized. Since the intracellular signaling role of septin 7 is dependent on its interaction network, interaction proteomics was applied to attain novel knowledge about septin 7 function in hematopoietic cells. Our previous finding of decreased septin 7 expression in blood-derived lymphocytes in ERU, a spontaneous animal model for autoimmune uveitis in man, extended the role of septin 7 to a potential key player in autoimmunity. Here, we revealed novel insights into septin 7 function by identification of DOCK8 as an interaction partner in primary blood-derived lymphocytes. Since DOCK8 is associated with important immune functions, our finding of significantly decreased DOCK8 expression and altered DOCK8 interaction network in ERU might explain changes in immune response and shows the contribution of DOCK8 in pathomechanisms of spontaneous autoimmune diseases. Moreover, our analyses revealed insights in DOCK8 function, by identifying the signal transducer ILK as a DOCK8 interactor in lymphocytes. Our finding of the enhanced enrichment of ILK in ERU cases indicates a deviant influence of DOCK8 on inter- and intracellular signaling in autoimmune disease.
nNOS-expressing neurons in the ventral tegmental area and substantia nigra pars compacta
Authors: Paul Eleanor J , Kalk Eliza , Tossell Kyoko , Irvine Elaine E. , Withers Dominic J. , Leiper James , Ungless Mark A
Published: January 2018

GABA neurons in the ventral tegmental area (VTA) and substantia nigra pars compact (SNc) play key roles in reward and aversion through their local inhibitory control of dopamine neuron activity and through long-range projections to several target regions including the nucleus accumbens. It is not clear if some of these GABA neurons are dedicated local interneurons or if they all collateralize and send projections externally as well as making local synaptic connections. Testing between these possibilities has been challenging in the absence of interneuron-specific molecular markers. We hypothesised that one potential candidate might be neuronal nitric oxide synthase (nNOS), a common interneuronal marker in other brain regions. To test this, we used a combination of immunolabelling (including antibodies for nNOS that we validated in tissue from nNOS-deficient mice) and cell-type-specific virus-based anterograde tracing in mice. We show that nNOS-expressing neurons in the parabrachial pigmented (PBP) part of the VTA and the SNc are GABAergic local interneurons, whereas nNOS-expressing neurons in the Rostral Linear Nucleus (RLi) are mostly glutamatergic and project to a number of regions, including the lateral hypothalamus, the ventral pallidum, and the median raphe nucleus. Taken together, these findings indicate that nNOS is expressed by neurochemically- and anatomically-distinct neuronal sub-groups in a sub-region-specific manner in the VTA and SNc.
Modeling Avian Full Annual Cycle Distribution and Population Trends with Citizen Science Data
Authors: Fink Daniel , Auer Tom , Johnston Alison , Ruiz-Gutierrez Viviana , Hochachka Wesley M. , Kelling Steve
Published: January 2018

Information on species’ distributions and abundances, and how these change over time are central to the study of the ecology and conservation of animal populations. This information is challenging to obtain at relevant scales across range-wide extents for two main reasons. First, local and regional processes that affect populations vary throughout the year and across species’ ranges, requiring fine-scale, year-round information across broad — sometimes hemispheric — spatial extents. Second, while citizen science projects can collect data at these scales, using these data requires appropriate analysis to address known sources of bias. Here we present an analytical framework to address these challenges and generate year-round, range-wide distributional information using citizen science data. To illustrate this approach, we apply the framework to Wood Thrush (Hylocichla mustelina), a long-distance Neotropical migrant and species of conservation concern, using data from the citizen science project eBird. We estimate occurrence and relative abundance with enough spatiotemporal resolution to support inference across a range of spatial scales throughout the annual cycle. Additionally, we generate intra-annual estimates of the range, intra-annual estimates of the associations between species and the local environment, and inter-annual trends in relative abundance. This is the first example of an analysis to capture intra- and inter-annual distributional dynamics across the entire range of a broadly distributed, highly mobile species.
A constraint-based model reveals hysteresis in island biogeography
Authors: Burger Joseph R. , Anderson Robert P. , Balk Meghan A. , Fristoe Trevor S.
Published: January 2018

Aim

We present a Constraint-based Model of Dynamic Island Biogeography (C-DIB) that predicts how species functional traits interact with dynamic environments to determine the candidate species available for local community assembly on real and habitat islands through time.

Location

Real and habitat islands globally.

Methods

We develop the C-DIB model concept, synthesize the relevant literature, and present a toolkit for evaluating model predictions for a wide variety of “island” systems and taxa.

Results

The C-DIB model reveals that as islands cycle between phases of increasing or decreasing size and connectivity to a source pool, the dominant process driving species’ presence or absence switches between colonization and extinction. Both processes are mediated by interactions between organismal traits and environmental constraints. Colonization probability is predicted by a species’ ability to cross the intervening matrix between a population source and the island; population persistence (or extinction) is predicted by the minimum spatial requirements to sustain an isolated population. The non-random distributions of mammals on islands of the Sunda Shelf and Great Basin “sky islands” provide example study systems for evaluating the C-DIB model.

Main conclusions

Because different suites of traits impose constraints on the processes of colonization and extinction, similar environmental conditions can host different candidate species despite the same predicted richness. Thus, the model exemplifies the specific yet underappreciated role ofhysteresis–the dependency of outcomes not only on the current system state –but also the historical contingency of environmental change in affecting populations and communities in insular systems.
A non-canonical role for dynamin-1 in regulating early stages of clathrin-mediated endocytosis in non-neuronal cells
Authors: Srinivasan Saipraveen , Burckhardt Christoph J. , Bhave Madhura , Chen Zhiming , Chen Ping-Hung , Wang Xinxin , Danuser Gaudenz , Schmid Sandra L.
Published: January 2018

Dynamin GTPases are best studied for their role in the terminal membrane fission process of clathrin-mediated endocytosis (CME); but, they have also been proposed to regulate earlier stages of CME. Although highly enriched in neurons, dynamin-1 (Dyn1) is, in fact, widely expressed along with dynamin-2 (Dyn2), but inactivated in non-neuronal cells via phosphorylation by GSK3β kinase. Here, we study the differential, isoform-specific functions of Dyn1 and Dyn2 as regulators of CME. Endogenously expressed Dyn1 and Dyn2 were fluorescently-tagged either separately or together in two cell lines with contrasting Dyn1 expression levels. By quantitative live cell dual and triple-channel total internal reflection fluorescence microscopy we find that Dyn2 is more efficiently recruited to clathrin-coated pits (CCPs) than Dyn1, and that Dyn2, but not Dyn1 exhibits a burst of assembly prior to CCV formation. Activation of Dyn1 by acute inhibition of GSK3β results in more rapid endocytosis of transferrin receptors, increased rates of CCP initiation and decreased CCP lifetimes, but did not significantly affect the extent of Dyn1 recruitment to CCPs. Thus, activated Dyn1 can regulate early stages of CME even when present at low, substoichiometric levels relative to Dyn2, and apparently without assembly into supramolecular collar-like structures. Under physiological conditions Dyn1 is activated downstream of EGF-receptor signaling to alter CCP dynamics. We identify sorting nexin 9 (SNX9) as a preferred binding partner to activated Dyn1 that is partially required for Dyn1-dependent effects on early stages of CCP maturation. Together, we decouple regulatory and scission functions of dynamins and report a scission-independent, isoformspecific regulatory role for Dyn1 in clathrin-mediated endocytosis.
BMP Signaling Downstream of the Highwire E3 Ligase Sensitizes Nociceptors
Authors: Honjo Ken , Tracey W. Daniel
Published: January 2018

A comprehensive understanding of the molecular machinery important for nociception is essential to improving the treatment of pain. Here, we show that the BMP signaling pathway regulates nociception downstream of the E3 ubiquitin ligase highwire (hiw). Hiw loss of function in nociceptors caused antagonistic and pleiotropic phenotypes with simultaneous insensitivity to noxious heat but sensitized responses to optogenetic activation of nociceptors. Thus, hiw functions to both positively and negatively regulate nociceptors. We find that a sensory transduction-independent sensitization pathway was associated with BMP signaling. BMP signaling in nociceptors was up-regulated in hiw mutants, and nociceptor-specific expression of hiw rescued all nociception phenotypes including the increased BMP signaling. Blocking the transcriptional output of the BMP pathway with dominant negative Mad suppressed nociceptive hypersensitivity that was induced by interfering with hiw. The up-regulated BMP signaling phenotype in hiw genetic mutants could not be suppressed by mutation in wallenda suggesting that hiw regulates BMP in nociceptors via a wallenda independent pathway. In a newly established Ca2+ imaging preparation, we observed that up-regulated BMP signaling caused a significantly enhanced Ca2+ signal in the axon terminals of nociceptors that were stimulated by noxious heat. This response likely accounts for the nociceptive hypersensitivity induced by elevated BMP signaling in nociceptors. Finally, we showed that acute activation of BMP signaling in nociceptors was sufficient to sensitize nociceptive responses to optogenetically-triggered nociceptor activation without altering nociceptor morphology. Overall, this study demonstrates the previously unrevealed roles of the Hiw-BMP pathway in the regulation of nociception and provides the first direct evidence that up-regulated BMP signaling physiologically sensitizes responses of nociceptors and nociception behaviors.

Author Summary

Although pain is a universally experienced sensation that has a significant impact on human lives and society, the molecular mechanisms of pain remain poorly understood. Elucidating these mechanisms is particularly important to gaining insight into the clinical development of currently incurable chronic pain diseases. Taking an advantage of the powerful genetic model organism Drosophila melanogaster (fruit flies), we unveil the Highwire-BMP signaling pathway as a novel molecular pathway that regulates the sensitivity of nociceptive sensory neurons. Highwire and the molecular components of the BMP signaling pathway are known to be widely conserved among animal phyla, from nematode worms to humans. Since abnormal sensitivity of nociceptive sensory neurons can play a critical role in the development of chronic pain conditions, a deeper understanding of the regulation of nociceptor sensitivity has the potential to advance effective therapeutic strategies to treat difficult pain conditions.
Quantitative Assessment of Protein Activity in Orphan Tissues and Single Cells Using the metaVIPER Algorithm
Authors: Ding Hongxu , Douglass Eugene F. , Sonabend Adam M. , Mela Angeliki , Bose Sayantan , Gonzalez Christian , Canoll Peter D. , Sims Peter A. , Alvarez Mariano J. , Califano Andrea
Published: January 2018

We and others have shown that transition and maintenance of biological states is controlled by master regulator protein, which can be inferred by interrogating tissue-specific regulatory models (interactomes) with transcriptional signatures, using the VIPER algorithm. Yet, some tissues may lack molecular profiles necessary for interactome inference (orphan tissues), or, as for single cells isolated from heterogeneous samples, their tissue context may be undetermined. To address this problem, we introduce metaVIPER, a novel algorithm designed to assess protein activity in tissue-independent by integrative analysis of multiple, non-tissue-matched interactomes. This assumes that transcriptional targets of each protein will be recapitulated by one or more available interactome. We confirmed the algorithm’s value in assessing protein dysregulation induced by somatic mutations, as well as in assessing protein activity in orphan tissues and, most critically, in single cells, thus allowing transformation of noisy and potentially biased RNA-Seq signatures into reproducible protein-activity signatures.
Self-reported food safety knowledge and practices of Lebanese food handlers in Lebanese households
Authors: Hassan Hussein F. , Dimassi Hani , Karam Zeina Nakat
Published: January 2018

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to assess level of food safety knowledge and self-reported practices among Lebanese food handlers in Lebanese households and to identify the association between knowledge/practices and socio-demographic characteristics.

Design/methodology/approach

A cross-sectional study was conducted among 1,500 participants from different gender, age, area of residence, income, marital status and education. They completed a questionnaire of six questions about demographics, and 26 questions related to knowledge and self-reported practices in terms of food handling, storage, usage of kitchen facilities and personal hygiene subgroups. SPSS v23 was used for statistical analyses. Student t-test and analysis of variance were conducted. Significance level of 0.05 was used.

Findings

On average, participants scored 55.6±16.3, 51.3±25.7, 67.4±19.3 and 89.1±16.3 on food handling, storage, usage of kitchen facilities and personal hygiene, respectively, whereas the passing (score above 50 percent) rates were 64.5, 69.9, 90.5 and 99.1, respectively, for the different subgroups. Gender had significant (p<0.05) effect on food handling and personal hygiene; age, marital status and education had significant (p<0.05) effect on handling, usage of kitchen facilities and personal hygiene; area of residence had significant (p<0.05) effect on storage, handling and usage of kitchen facilities; income had significant (p<0.05) effect on handling and usage of kitchen facilities. Overall mean food safety knowledge and self-reported practices score was 63.8±12.6; passing rate was 86.2; gender, age, area of residence, education, marital status and income had significant (p<0.05) effect. Food safety self-reported practices and knowledge scores were significantly (p<0.001) related to a weak to moderate correlation coefficient (R=0.34).

Practical implications

The results confirm the need for ongoing educational initiatives to improve the relatively low food safety knowledge and practices among the Lebanese food handlers in Lebanese households.

Originality/value

No study has determined the food safety knowledge and self-reported practices of Lebanese food handlers in Lebanese households before.
Mobile banking adoption in an emerging economy
Authors: Priya Richa , Gandhi Aradhana Vikas , Shaikh Ateeque
Published: January 2018

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to analyze the factors affecting mobile banking adoption among young Indian consumers.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors use a cross-sectional survey research design to empirically examine the factors affecting mobile banking adoption among young Indian consumers. The study sample consists of 269 respondents aged between 23 and 30 years from India.

Findings

The findings of the study suggest that perceived usefulness (PU), perceived ease of use (PEU), perceived credibility (PC) and structural assurance (SA) are strong determinants of user satisfaction (US) and behavioral intention (BI) to use the mobile banking service. US was found to partially mediate the relationship between PU, PEU, PC and SA and BI to use the service. Perceived risk was found to be statistically insignificant in terms of its relationship with BI to use the service.

Research limitations/implications

The results of this study provide good evidence for banks to further revamp their work practices in the area of mobile banking to enhance the overall penetration of mobile banking in India.

Originality/value

The study identifies factors influencing mobile banking adoption among young Indian consumers. Furthermore, this study suggests that US partially mediates the relationship between factor influencing mobile banking adoption and BI.
An integrated approach for prioritizing lean and agile production factors based on costs of quality with a case study in the home appliance industry
Authors: Shahin Arash , Rezaei Marzieh
Published: January 2018

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to prioritize lean production (LP) and agile production (AP) factors based on costs of quality (COQ).

Design/methodology/approach

After literature review, two separated houses of quality (HoQ) have been developed. By the first HoQ, LP and AP factors can be proritized based on prevention and appraisal costs and by the second HoQ, LP and AP factors can be prioritized based on failure costs. The proposed approach has been examined by analyzing data collected from 36 home appliance producers of Isfahan as an industrial province of Iran.

Findings

The first HoQ indicates that the highest and the lowest priorities are related to over-production (lean factor) and speed (agility factor), respectively. The second HoQ implies that the highest and the lowest priorities are related to responsiveness (agility factor) and inventory (lean factor), respectively. Quadrant analysis also indicates that defectives and over-processing are the two factors that have the highest priorities based on both failure costs and appraisal and prevention costs. As a major finding, LP factors have strong relationship with prevention and appraisal costs; and AP factors have strong relationship with failure costs.

Practical implications

The proposed approach helps organizations in reducing their costs. By clarifying the relationship of the LP and AP factors and the COQ, managers can determine appropriate strategies with the lowest cost.

Originality/value

The integrated approach of this study has not been applied and studied in the literature. The subject of the relationship of LP and AP and COQ is relatively new, which integrates the two areas of production management and quality management.
Effect of supplier development activities on performance outcomes: an empirical study
Authors: Dalvi Manojkumar Vithalrao , Kant Ravi
Published: January 2018

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine the role of supplier development activities (SDAs) in the context of three major performance outcomes (POs), i.e. supplier performance improvement (SPI), buyer’s competitive advantage improvement (BCAI) and buyer-supplier relationship improvement (BSRI).

Design/methodology/approach

A survey was conducted of 214 manufacturing organizations and the data were analyzed using factor analysis, correlation analysis and multiple hierarchical regression analysis.

Findings

This paper categorizes the identified 28 SDAs and 33 POs into five and three major categories of SDAs and POs, respectively. The results indicate a significant relationship between each aspect of SDAs and POs, except investment. The effect of each category of SDA is determined through a developed framework.

Research limitations/implications

This present study analyzes the SDAs and POs from the buyer’s point of view. A paired buyer and supplier data may provide some additional information about the relationship between SDAs and POs.

Practical implications

The outcome of this study will provide significant information for managers and academicians who are involved in outsourcing.

Originality/value

For the first time, the relationship and effect of each category of SDAs was analyzed in combination with three major POs, i.e. SPI, BSRI and BCAI.
Efficiency ranking method using SFA and TOPSIS (ERM-ST): case of Indian banks
Authors: Chitnis Asmita , Vaidya Omkarprasad S.
Published: January 2018

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to propose a performance evaluation framework using an integrated approach of stochastic frontier analysis (SFA) and technique of order preference with similarity to ideal solution (TOPSIS) called efficiency ranking method using SFA and TOPSIS (ERM-ST) specifically in the banking sector where service excellence is of prime importance for business growth.

Design/methodology/approach

The proposed approach ERM-ST measures the performance of a DMU in the SFA framework by considering multiple outputs and multiple inputs. It is a non-parametric tool which does not need any prior model assumptions which enhances its applicability in real-life business scenarios. Moreover, the efficiency score obtained using the proposed model ERM-ST lies between 0 and 1, unlike in case of super efficiency data envelopment analysis (DEA) which may go well above 1.

Findings

The proposed framework is evaluated for its applicability using two various data sets and is further used to evaluate the performance of a group of 26 public sector banks in India. The results obtained by the proposed method ERM-ST are compared with those obtained by super efficiency DEA using Friedman’s test.

Originality/value

The proposed approach ERM-ST is developed to evaluate the performance of a service unit with multiple outputs and multiple inputs in the SFA framework.
Benchmark product features using the Kano-QFD approach: a case study
Authors: Gangurde Sanjaykumar R. , Patil Saurabh S.
Published: January 2018

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to apply the proposed methodology to develop the product as per customer’s requirements (CRs) and increase customer satisfaction (CS).

Design/methodology/approach

The companies are using different methods to identify CRs and translate these requirements into new products. The Kano model is used to identify CRs. The result of the Kano model is used in quality function deployment (QFD) to decide the priority for improvements of CRs and the technical requirements.

Findings

The integration of the Kano model and QFD is applied on the mobile phone. The Kano model helps to find out the CRs which affect the CS, such as attractive (A) attribute, one (O)-dimensional attribute and must be (M) attribute. The QFD method helps to translate the CRs into technical requirements so that the designer can decide priority of requirements for improvement or new product development.

Research limitations/implications

The proposed methodology can be applied to different consumers as well as industrial products.

Originality/value

The Kano model has been used in manufacturing as well as service sector. This work explores its usefulness and applicability for consumer and industrial products.
Segmenting critical success factors of humanitarian supply chains using fuzzy DEMATEL
Authors: Yadav Devendra K. , Barve Akhilesh
Published: January 2018

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to explore and analyse the critical success factors (CSFs) of humanitarian supply chains in mitigating the impact of cyclones in the Indian context using the fuzzy Decision-Making Trial and Evaluation Laboratory (DEMATEL) approach.

Design/methodology/approach

The selection of CSFs of humanitarian supply chains has been done through several secondary sources and discussion with 12 disaster experts. Thereafter, DEMATEL, an expert judgement-based technique, has been used for selecting, building and analysing a structural model that involves causal relationships between the set of identified CSFs. Furthermore, to accommodate the vagueness involved in human judgement, fuzzy logic is incorporated with the DEMATEL.

Findings

Based on a literature survey and expert judgement, total 16 CSFs of humanitarian supply chains have been segmented into cause and effect groups based upon their relative influencing scores. The analysis shows that the out of 16 CSFs, ten CSFs have been categorised into cause group CSFs and six as the effect group CSFs.

Practical implications

The findings of this study will help disaster management institutions, humanitarian agencies, logisticians, NGOs and cyclone-prone countries to improve the critical ingredients in designing and executing an effective cyclone response operation.

Originality/value

In this study, fuzzy DEMATEL has been applied to identify and analyse the CSFs of humanitarian supply chains for the cyclone disaster response in the Indian context, which is a novel contribution widening the existing knowledge in humanitarian relief domain.
ANP-MOORA-based approach for the analysis of selected issues of green supply chain management
Authors: Chand Mahesh , Bhatia Neha , Singh Rajesh Kumar
Published: January 2018

Purpose

Industries start focusing on the green concept in supply chain management (SCM) to reduce waste and emission, preserve the quality of natural resources and decrease the consumption of hazardous/harmful materials for better product life cycle, which not only improve environmental performance but also economic performance. But, for industries, it is still very difficult to understand and analyze the effect of individual activities and their corresponding contribution. The purpose of this paper is to identify and analyze selected issues in green supply chain management for the implementation of the green concept in industries.

Design/methodology/approach

To fulfill the objectives of this paper, analytical network process-multi-objective optimization using rational analysis (ANP-MOORA) techniques are used. In the proposed methodologies, different issues, sub-issues, and alternatives are identified for the selection of the best supply chain using ANP which is being followed by the MOORA method.

Findings

Findings of this paper are highly valuable for the Indian manufacturing industries for the management of green supply chain (GSC) issues.

Research limitations/implications

In this research, only selected issues are identified and analyzed for the management of GSCs. Further, it is believed that an ANP-based framework helps to take up the explicit account of multi-criteria decision making (MCDM) approaches in decision making and for improving and selecting the best supply chain. Other issues in GSC can be analyzed and further extended by other MCDM approaches.

Originality/value

This paper identified different type of supply chains and their issues. The systematic way of analyzing the green concept in supply chain helps the researchers and managers to implement green management practices for improving economic and environmental performance.
Is the simple trading range break-out rule profitable from the NASDAQ index?
Authors: Ren Louie , Ren Peter , Glasure Yong
Published: January 2018

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine the profitability from various simple trading range break-out rules on the NASDAQ index.

Design/methodology/approach

Runs test is used to test whether the returns from every other days on buy and sell days are random. If they are not random, then the Student T-test will not be applicable to test the predictive power for profitability from the simple trading range break-out rules on the NASDAQ index.

Findings

Empirical study in this paper shows that the returns on buy and sell days are not random via runs test. Therefore, the simple trading range break-out rules cannot lead to the conclusion that they have the predictive power for profitability from the T-test. Applying the simple trading range break-out rule to NASDAQ does not support or overturn the market efficiency hypothesis.

Research limitations/implications

The study is only based on the five simple trading range break-out rules from 9,311 daily closing prices on the NASDAQ over the period of February 5, 1971 to December 12, 2007. It can serve as a counter example for other studies about the predictive power of profitability from different trading rules.

Practical implications

Contrary to numerous previous research works, the study shows that the simple trading range break-out rules have no predictive power for profitability, and should not be used to test the market efficiency.

Originality/value

Based on the literature review, the study is one of the first empirical studies showing the returns on buy and sell days are not independent, and the authors cannot conclude that the trading range break-out rules have the predictive power for profitability on the NASDAQ index.
Socialization resources theory and newcomers’ work engagement
Authors: Saks Alan M. , Gruman Jamie A.
Published: January 2018

Purpose

Although work engagement has become an important topic in management, relatively little attention has been given to newcomers’ work engagement in the socialization literature. The purpose of this paper is to explain how newcomers’ work engagement can fluctuate during the first year of organizational entry and the role of organizational socialization in developing and maintaining high levels of newcomers’ work engagement.

Design/methodology/approach

A review of the socialization literature indicates that uncertainty reduction theory has been the basis of research on socialization tactics and newcomer information-seeking both of which function by providing newcomers with information to reduce uncertainty. Socialization resources theory is used to develop a new pathway to newcomer socialization which focuses on providing newcomers with resources during the first year of organizational entry and socialization.

Findings

The uncertainty reduction pathway to newcomer socialization is narrow and limited because it primarily focuses on minimizing and reducing the negative effects of job demands rather than on providing newcomers with resources that are necessary to facilitate work engagement and socialization.

Practical implications

Organizations can use newcomers’ work engagement maintenance curves to map and track fluctuations in newcomers’ work engagement during the first year of organizational entry and they can conduct an audit of socialization resources to determine what resources are required to develop and maintain high levels of newcomers’ work engagement.

Originality/value

This paper describes newcomer work engagement maintenance curves and explains how socialization resources can be used to develop and maintain high levels of newcomers’ work engagement. A model of a new pathway to newcomer socialization is developed in which socialization resources, personal resources, and job demands influence newcomers’ work engagement and socialization outcomes.
Natural convection combined with thermal radiation in a square cavity filled with a viscoelastic fluid
Authors: Sheremet Mikhail A. , Pop Ioan
Published: January 2018

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to study natural convective heat transfer and viscoelastic fluid flow in a differentially heated square cavity under the effect of thermal radiation.

Design/methodology/approach

The cavity filled with a viscoelastic fluid is heated uniformly from the left wall and cooled from the right side while insulated from horizontal walls. Governing partial differential equations formulated in non-dimensional stream function, vorticity and temperature with corresponding boundary conditions have been solved by finite difference method of second order accuracy. The effects of Rayleigh number (Ra = 1e+3−1e+5), radiation parameter (Rd = 0 − 10), Prandtl number (Pr = 1 − 30) and elastic number (E = 0.0001 − 0.001) on flow patterns, temperature fields, average Nusselt number at hot vertical wall and rate of fluid flow have been studied.

Findings

It has been found that a growth of elastic number leads to the heat transfer reduction and convective flow attenuation. The heat conduction is a dominating heat transfer mechanism for high values of radiation parameter.

Originality/value

The originality of this work is to analyze heat transfer and fluid flow of a viscoelastic fluid inside a differentially heated cavity. The results would benefit scientists and engineers to become familiar with the flow and heat behavior of non-Newtonian fluids, and the way to predict the properties of this flow for possibility of using viscoelastic fluids in compact heat exchangers, electronic cooling systems, polymer engineering, etc.
Decoding the effects of a product’s cast shadow in brand advertising
Authors: Sharma Nazuk
Published: January 2018

Purpose

This research aims to investigate the impact of incorporating product shadows in brand advertising on consumer brand evaluations.

Design/methodology/approach

Three studies were designed using experimental approach to demonstrate how the presence of a product’s cast shadow in a brand’s promotional frame implicitly influences brand evaluations differently for experiential vs functional brands.

Findings

The presence of a product’s cast shadow in a visual frame implicitly complements abstract processing of an experiential brand but hurts a functional brand’s concrete gestalt by acting as visual noise, thereby improving an experiential brand’s overall evaluation in comparison to a functional brand.

Research limitations/implications

Current findings highlight the importance of using appropriate visual elements (especially subtle elements such as product shadows) to ensure communication consistency between the firm-formulated brand concept and the consumer-perceived brand image.

Practical implications

Experiential (vs functional) brand images are harder to build and maintain. Current findings show that a mere presence of the product’s shadow in an experiential (vs functional) brand’s ad frame reinforces the experiential brand image by acting as a consistent element in the experiential brand’s ad frame that enhances the overall ease of product evaluation. Hence, product shadows should be used as strategic tools by brand managers, rather than a random ad-execution choice.

Originality/value

This research makes an initial attempt to explore the relationship between product shadows and consumer brand perceptions. It provides a deeper understanding of the underlying process (based on associative networks memory model, construal level theory and processing fluency model) that influence specific brand perceptions (experiential vs functional) when a product is showcased with its shadow in a promotional frame.
An eye tracking study of minimally branded products: hedonism and branding as predictors of purchase intentions
Authors: Mundel Juan , Huddleston Patricia , Behe Bridget , Sage Lynnell , Latona Caroline
Published: January 2018

Purpose

This study aims to test the relationship between consumers’ perceptions of product type (utilitarian vs hedonic) and the attentional processes that underlie decision-making among minimally branded products.

Design/methodology/approach

This study uses eye-tracking measures (i.e. total fixation duration) and data collected through an online survey.

Findings

The study shows that consumers spend more time looking at hedonic (vs utilitarian) and branded (vs unbranded) products, which influences perceptions of quality.

Practical implications

The findings of this research provide guidelines for marketing minimally branded products.

Originality/value

The authors showed that the product type influences the time consumers spend looking at an item. Previous findings about effects of branding are extended to an understudied product category (i.e. live potted plants).
Asymmetric cognitive, emotional and behavioural effects of values-related and performance-related negative brand publicity
Authors: Liu Xian , Lischka Helena Maria , Kenning Peter
Published: January 2018

Purpose

This research aims to systematically explore the cognitive and emotional effects of values-related and performance-related negative brand publicity and investigate how the psychological effects translate into different behavioural outcomes. In addition, it examines the relative effectiveness of two major brand response strategies in mitigating negative publicity.

Design/methodology/approach

Two experimental studies were conducted to test the hypotheses. Study 1 examines the effects of values- and performance-related negative brand publicity, using a 3 (negative brand publicity: values-related vs performance-related vs control) × 2 (brand: Dove vs Axe) between-subjects experiment. Study 2 further compares the effects of two major brand response strategies on consumers’ post-crisis perceived trustworthiness and trust and responses towards a brand involved in negative publicity. A 2 (negative brand publicity: values-related vs performance-related) × 2 (brand response strategy: reduction-of-offensiveness vs corrective action) between-subjects design was used.

Findings

The results suggest that values-related negative brand publicity is perceived as being more diagnostic and elicits a stronger emotion of contempt, but a weaker emotion of pity than performance-related negative brand publicity. Moreover, values-related negative brand publicity has a stronger negative impact on consumer responses than performance-related negative brand publicity. Interestingly, compared to perceived diagnosticity of information and the emotion of pity, the emotion of contempt is more likely to cause differences in consumer responses to these two types of negative brand publicity. Regarding brand response strategy, corrective action is more effective than reduction-of-offensiveness for both types of negative brand publicity, but the advantage of corrective action is greater for the performance-related case.

Originality/value

This research enriches the negative publicity and brand perception literature, showing the asymmetric cognitive, emotional and behavioural effects of values- and performance-related negative brand publicity. It also identifies the psychological mechanisms underlying consumer responses to negative brand publicity, and it provides empirical evidence for the relative effectiveness of two major brand response strategies.
Evaluating population viability and efficacy of conservation management using integrated population models
Authors: Saunders Sarah P. , Cuthbert Francesca J. , Zipkin Elise F.
Published: January 2018

Predicting population responses to environmental conditions or management scenarios is a fundamental challenge for conservation. Proper consideration of demographic, environmental and parameter uncertainties is essential for projecting population trends and optimal conservation strategies.

We developed a coupled integrated population model‐Bayesian population viability analysis to assess the (1) impact of demographic rates (survival, fecundity, immigration) on past population dynamics; (2) population viability 10 years into the future; and (3) efficacy of possible management strategies for the federally endangered Great Lakes piping ploverCharadrius meloduspopulation.

Our model synthesizes long‐term population survey, nest monitoring and mark–resight data, while accounting for multiple sources of uncertainty. We incorporated latent abundance of eastern North American merlinsFalco columbarius, a primary predator of adult plovers, as a covariate on adult survival via a parallel state‐space model, accounting for the influence of an imperfectly observed process (i.e. predation pressure) on population viability.

Mean plover abundance increased from 18 pairs in 1993 to 75 pairs in 2016, but annual population growth () was projected to be 0.95 (95% CI 0.72–1.12), suggesting a potential decline to 67 pairs within 10 years. Without accounting for an expanding merlin population, we would have concluded that the plover population was projected to increase ( = 1.02; 95% CI 0.94–1.09) to 91 pairs by 2026. We compared four conservation scenarios: (1) no proposed management; (2) increased control of chick predators (e.g.Corvidae, Laridae, mammals); (3) increased merlin control; and (4) simultaneous chick predator and merlin control. Compared to the null scenario, chick predator control reduced quasi‐extinction probability from 11.9% to 8.7%, merlin control more than halved (3.5%) the probability and simultaneous control reduced quasi‐extinction probability to 2.6%.

Synthesis and applications. Piping plover recovery actions should consider systematic predator control, rather than current ad hoc protocols, especially given the predicted increase in regional merlin abundance. This approach of combining integrated population models with Bayesian population viability analysis to identify limiting components of the population cycle and evaluate alternative management strategies for conservation decision‐making shows great utility for aiding recovery of threatened populations.
Chromosomal deletions mediated by CRISPR/Cas9 in Helicoverpa armigera
Authors: Jin Ming‐Hui , Xiao Yu‐Tao , Cheng Ying , Hu Jie , Xue Chao‐Bin , Wu Kong‐Ming
Published: January 2018

Helicoverpa armigera, cotton bollworm, is one of the most disastrous pests worldwide, threatening various food and economic crops. Functional genomic tools may provide efficient approaches for its management. The clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR)/CRISPR‐associated protein 9 (Cas9) system, dependent on a single guide RNA (sgRNA), has been used to induce indels for targeted mutagenesis in cotton bollworm. However, genomic deletions may be more desirable to disrupt the function of noncoding genes or regulatory sequences. By injecting two sgRNAs with Cas9 protein targeting different exons, we obtained predictable genomic deletions of several hundred bases. We achieved this type of modification with different combinations of sgRNA pairs, including HaCad and HaABCC2. Our finding indicated that CRISPR/Cas9 can be used as an efficient tool to engineer genomes with chromosomal deletion in H. armigera.
Efficacy and safety of flumazenil injection for the reversal of midazolam sedation after elective outpatient endoscopy
Authors: Lee Sang Pyo , Sung In‐Kyung , Kim Jeong Hwan , Lee Sun‐Young , Park Hyung Seok , Shim Chan Sup
Published: January 2018

OBJECTIVE

Midazolam sedation during elective endoscopy is widely performed and flumazenil is frequently administered after endoscopy to reverse sedation in clinical practice. This study aimed to investigate the safety and efficacy of flumazenil injections after elective endoscopy under midazolam sedation.

METHODS

Participants who underwent an upper endoscopy under midazolam sedation were randomly divided into two groups. In group I, flumazenil was administered i.v. 10 min after the patient's transfer to the recovery room, and no antidote was injected in group II. The time of stay in the recovery room and adverse events were reviewed through the nursing records. We asked the patients about their pain and degree of satisfaction according to a visual analogue scale (VAS), their memory of the procedure, mental status and the presence of uncomfortable symptoms on the day of the procedure and the day afterwards.

RESULTS

The length of stay in recovery was significantly shorter in group I than in group II. No significant differences were found in the number of patients with pain (VAS ≥1), adverse events and discomfort between the two groups. Additionally, there were no differences in the patients’ memory of the procedure, satisfaction with sedation, willingness to repeat the endoscopy and mental status.

CONCLUSIONS

The time in the recovery room after flumazenil administration was significantly shortened, and the use of the drug did not increase the risk of adverse events or discomfort. The use of flumazenil for reversing midazolam sedation seems to be safe and effective.
The Grieving Nursing Diagnoses in the Primary Healthcare Setting
Authors: Rodríguez‐Álvaro M. , Brito‐Brito P. R. , García‐Hernández A. M. , Aguirre‐Jaime A. , Fernandez‐Gutierrez D. A.
Published: January 2018

PURPOSE

To estimate the prevalence of Grieving, risk for Complicated Grieving, and Complicated Grieving in the primary care setting.

METHODS

Retrospective epidemiological study, analyzing data from electronic health records (EHR).

FINDINGS

A total of 84% of the 9,063 records had diagnostic labels without defining characteristics, related factors, or risk factors. A larger frequency of complicated grieving was found in deceased mourners.

CONCLUSIONS

The grieving epidemiology opens new chances for the research using data from EHR.

PRACTICE IMPLICATIONS

The adequacy of the records is essential to develop a profile of the patient at risk of complications after the loss.

This research is an important step to build an epidemiological basis for nursing diagnosis of grieving in the primary health care setting.