bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Creating “them” and “us”
Authors: Tomsic Mary , Deery Claire Marika
Published: May 2019

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine how the contemporary “refugee crisis” is being presented to children through picture books and teaching materials. It uses the concept of refugeedom as an approach that takes into account the multiple facets involved in the forced movement of people in the past and present and seeks to show the value of historical understandings in educational contexts when framing resources for teachers and students.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper examines a sample of high-profile English language picture books about children’s stories of forced displacement and the most prominent freely available teaching materials connected to the books. A critical discursive analysis of the books and educative guides considers the ways in which ideas and information about forced displacement is framed for child readers and children in primary school classrooms. The context for the authors’ interest in exploring these books and educational resources is that in response to the numbers of children who are part of the current “refugee crisis” alongside a public call for the “crisis” to be explained to children.

Findings

The paper argues that picture books open up spaces for children to explore refugeedom through experiences of forced movement and various factors involved in the contemporary “refugee crisis”. In contrast, in the teaching resources and some peritextual materials, the child in the classroom is addressed as entirely disconnected from children who are forcibly displaced, students in classrooms are positioned to learn from the refugee “other”. When links are made between students in classroom and children who have been forcibly displaced it is through activities that position students in classrooms to imagine themselves as forcibly displaced, or to suggest they act within a humanitarian framework of welcoming or helping refugees. The authors believe that if teaching resources were more directly informed by discipline specific tools of historical concepts, more nuanced approaches to past and present histories of forced movement could be considered and from that more fruitful learning opportunities created for all students.

Practical implications

This research provides ideas about how materials to support the use of picture books in educational settings could be developed to promote historical thinking and contextualisation around key social and political issues in the world today. It also makes the case for historians to be involved in the creation of teaching materials in a collaborative way so that academic insights can be brought to teachers and students at all levels of education.

Originality/value

The value of this research is to understand how children are positioned in reading and learning about forced displacement and query the impact of decontextualised approaches to learning. It argues for the critical interpretative value that historical understanding can bring to present day issues which are history in the making.
Influential factors for intention to visit an adversarial nation: increasing robustness and validity of findings
Authors: Stepchenkova Svetlana , Kirilenko Andrei P. , Shichkova Elena
Published: May 2019

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the drivers of visitation intention, including demographic, psychographic (animosity, national attachment and consumer ethnocentrism) and image factors on tourist decision-making in a situation of bilateral conflict between the destination country and the source country, that is, the USA and Russia, respectively.

Design/methodology/approach

The data were collected at two different points in time from two different samples but analyzed with the same research question in mind. To increase the robustness and validity of findings, three analytical approaches from the repertoire of statistics and data mining techniques such as hierarchical linear regression, logistic regression and decision tree analysis were applied to two independent samples of tourists with different demographic profiles. This multiple methods research employs a complementary design, as methods used have equal importance and are applied concurrently.

Findings

The paper obtained generally consistent results across methods and samples: general animosity, destination image and country image are the most influential factors in the tourists’ decision-making to visit a destination country with which their own country has strained bilateral relations.

Practical implications

Destination image is highly important in all analyses and is more favorable than country image. It indicates some degree of separation of the two images in the respondents’ mind, which indicates that marketing a country as a tourist destination on a not-so-friendly tourism market may still be effective. Results also tentatively indicate that for young adults, patriotic feelings matter more in their decision-making, while for more mature tourists, ethnocentric tendencies play a more important role.

Originality/value

The paper examines the influence of general and situational animosity, national attachment, and consumer ethnocentrism on visitation intentions in a situation of conflict between the two nations and, thus, expands the empirical evidence accumulated to date on tourist behavior in conflict. The paper acts on the premise that if a connection between any two variables truly exists, it should be able to withstand variations in samples, timing of data collection and measurement, thus, leading to more robust findings.
Effect of laser surface texturing on wear resistance of nickel based superalloy
Authors: F. Peter Prakash , Duraiselvam Muthukannan , S. Natarajan , Balamurugan Kannan Ganesa
Published: May 2019

Purpose

This paper aims to investigate the effect of laser surface texturing (LST) on the wear behavior of C-263 nickel-based superalloy and to identify the optimum wear operating condition.

Design/methodology/approach

C-263 nickel-based superalloy was selected as substrate material and pico-second Nd-YAG laser was used to fabricate the waviness groove texture on their surface. Wear experiments were designed based on Box-Bhenken design with three factors of sliding velocity, sliding distance and applied load. Wear experiments were performed using pin on disc tribometer. Morphologies of textures and worn-out surfaces were evaluated by scanning electron microscopy and energy dispersive spectroscopy. Surface topographies and surface roughness of the textures were evaluated by weight light interferometry. The response surface methodology was adopted to identify the optimum wear operating condition and ANOVA to identify the significant factors.

Findings

LST improves the wear resistance of C-263 nickel-based superalloy by appeoximately 82 per cent. Higher wear rate occurs at maximum values of all operating conditions, and applied load affects the coefficient of friction. Applied load significantly affects the wear rate of un-textured specimen. The interaction of sliding velocity and applied load also affects the wear rate of textured specimens. The optimum parameters to get minimum wear rate for un-textured specimens are 1.5 m/s sliding velocity, 725 m sliding distance and 31 N of applied load. For textured specimens, the optimum values are 1.5 m/s sliding distance, 500 m sliding distance and 40 N of the applied load.

Originality/value

Literature on laser texturing on nickel-based superalloy is very scarce. Specifically, the effect of laser texturing on wear behavior of the nickel-based superalloy C-263 alloy is not yet reported.
The role of corporate controls and business-level strategy in business unit performance
Authors: Seifzadeh Pouya , Rowe W. Glenn
Published: May 2019

Purpose

Corporate controls are mechanisms that corporations use to ensure that the processes and/or outcomes of their business units meet corporate expectations. Challenges in measurement of corporate controls have led many researchers to operationalize them as part of the more ambiguous corporate effects construct, instead of addressing them separately. The purpose of this paper is to examine the significance of “fit” between corporate control mechanisms and business unit strategy in performance of business units.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors use ordinary least squares regression analysis on data collected between 2010 and 2012 from surveys from managers of 142 Iranian corporations and 1,822 of their subsidiaries. The authors also use financial and market data collected by an IDRO division and accessed through partnership in a joint project.

Findings

The authors found that while the fit between business unit strategy and corporate controls has a significant effect on business unit financial performance, it does not have a similar effect on market performance. The findings demonstrate that when business unit managers perceive that they are subject to a balance of strategic and financial controls with a slightly greater emphasis on strategic controls, then business units have higher financial and market performance, although the difference in financial performance is not significant.

Research limitations/implications

The authors find that the misfit between corporate controls and business strategies in such cases could negatively affect the performance of the business unit. However, this research also contributes to a better understanding of the importance of strategic controls to the successful performance of business units. The findings show that while the fit between controls and strategy is most critical for achieving financial performance in business units that pursue product leadership, strategic controls play a more prominent role than financial controls in achieving higher financial or market share performance for all business units.

Practical implications

The findings of the propositions in this research would discourage corporations with tight financial control from engaging in acquisition of businesses considered to be product leaders in their relative product markets.

Originality/value

Past research focusing on the fit between corporate-level factors and business-level factors and their role on business performance are largely limited to conceptual work. The limited empirical studies completed in the past generally reduce control mechanisms to lack or absence of autonomy. This shortcoming has been mainly due to difficulties in measurement of control mechanisms. The empirical study overcomes these barriers and in doing so, reveals surprising findings related to the effectiveness of different control mechanisms.
Strategic compatibility, collaboration and collective impact for community change
Authors: Brown Mary Ellen , Rizzuto Tracey , Singh Pallavi
Published: May 2019

Purpose

Communities are best able to tackle complex social problems when solutions are achieved collaboratively. Inter-organizational partnerships are strongest and provide the greatest benefit to communities when the relationships are mutually compatible. The purpose of this paper is to introduce an evidence-informed approach to identifying and forming mutually compatible collaborations among organizations responsible for promoting community well-being and carrying out community-level interventions.

Design/methodology/approach

A three-stage case study examines the utility of a novel measurement tool for identifying opportunities for strategic collaboration. The strategic compatibility assessment (SCA) was designed to identify inter-organizational collaborative capacities within and across sectors as a means to motivate collaborative behaviors that are essential to community change initiatives that advance the collective impact.

Findings

The findings of this paper indicate the SCA is an effective tool for fostering mutually beneficial collaborative partnerships. A high degree of content, face and practical validity was evidenced in two independent studies of SCA, and organizations using the SCA tool reported a moderate-to-high degree of collaborative behavior in a post-intervention assessment of SCA outcomes. These findings provide field-based support for the SCA to promote cross-sector collaboration for community-level interventions.

Originality/value

The SCA tool describes the degree of collaboration among organizations that operate within a neighborhood; identifies potential points of mutual compatibility within the network; and creates pathways for leveraging collaborative behavior to promote community capitals. The aim of this research is to examine the potential of the SCA tool to shift the non-profit sector climate away from one characterized by competition toward one rich with collaboration.
Transformational leadership with innovative behaviour
Authors: Amankwaa Albert , Gyensare Michael Asiedu , Susomrith Pattanee
Published: May 2019

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine simultaneously multiple mediating mechanisms through which transformational leadership affects innovative work behaviour (IWB). Specifically, the authors test job autonomy, affective commitment and supportive management as the three mediating paths through which transformational leadership predicts innovative wok behaviour.

Design/methodology/approach

Data were collected from 358 employees working in large retail banks in Accra, the capital of Ghana. A partial least squares structural equation modelling technique was used to estimate the measurement and structural models.

Findings

Job autonomy and supportive management rather than affective commitment mediated the relationship between transformational leadership and IWB. In addition, transformational leadership positively relates to job autonomy, affective commitment, supportive management and IWB.

Practical implications

By adopting leadership behaviours that seek to offer employees freedom on the job, a feeling of attachment to the organisation and positive perception of leadership support, managers and HR professionals can potentially foster employee innovation. This could stimulate organisational innovation and business success in the financial sector.

Originality/value

Although it is important to understand the mechanisms or processes through which transformational leadership behaviour promotes IWB, research in this area is scanty and scarce. This study theorises and empirically examines job autonomy and support management as novel mechanisms through which transformational leadership behaviour translates into workers’ innovative behaviour in formal banking institutions.
Whose value? Problems in valuing social enterprise and research implications
Authors: Chandra Yanto
Published: May 2019

Purpose

This paper argues that we need a more disciplined understanding of social enterprise (SE) that is able to incorporate its diversity across different contexts, yet remains sympathetic to its core ideal of value creation. This paper aims to revisit the meaning of value creation to reflect critically upon the diverse forms of SE.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper uses the Aristotelian causes, namely, the formal, efficient and final causes, to problematize the meaning of value creation.

Findings

This paper shows that SEs can create or destroy value depending on who evaluates the value. It also raises the issue that how value is created – the motives, means and action – is affected by the ethical orientation of the actors. Lastly, it encourages researchers to pay attention to how stakeholders are defined in SE, in light of the diverse nature of organizations that are labelled as SEs.

Research limitations/implications

This paper demonstrates that the current definition of SE is inadequate, and to-some extent, problematic. It then proposes some future research agendas, to unpack the issue of value creation, through social cost, politics, transparency and legal perspectives.

Originality/value

This research makes new contribution to the SE literature by injecting an Aristotelian perspective to problematize and reframe the meaning of value creation. It asks scholars to answer these questions: from whose perspective is value created or destroyed (formal cause), how is value created (efficient cause) and for whom is the value created (final cause)?
Organizational social entrepreneurship: scale development and validation
Authors: Kannampuzha Merie , Hockerts Kai
Published: May 2019

Purpose

Social entrepreneurship has become a growing field of research interest. Yet, past research has been held back by the lack of a rigorous measurement instrument. Rather than defining social entrepreneurship as an organizational form that a venture does or does not have, this paper agrees with Dees and Anderson (2006) that the construct is better thought of as a set of practices, processes and behaviors that organizations can engage in to a higher or a lesser degree. In other words, the construct is a set of behaviors that any organization can engage in. The purpose of the paper is to develop scale items to measure the construct of organizational social entrepreneurship (OSE).

Design/methodology/approach

Drawing on previous literature, this paper first develops and then validates scales for measuring OSE as a third-order formative construct. As its second order, the scale includes three components that capture the heterogeneity of the OSE concept: social change intention, commercial activity and inclusive governance.

Findings

The OSE scale is developed and tested through a sample of 182 nascent social enterprises from 55 different countries in the world and then revalidated using a second sample of 263 mature social enterprises from 6 European countries. Results suggest that the scale items exhibit internal consistency, reliability, construct validity and nomological validity.

Research limitations/implications

The scale presented here offers an important new venue for social entrepreneurship theorizing. First, it allows scholars to take a broad approach toward a diverse field and to study OSE behavior in any empirical field in which it may occur. Second, the scales also allow for more focused theorizing. Scholars are encouraged to delve into the antecedents of all three components presented here and to study the different performance effects they have in terms of likelihood to survive, growth rate or potential to achieve financial sustainability.

Originality/value

The paper develops a multidimensional construct for OSE. In particular, the authors propose scale items for three central components of social entrepreneurship, namely, social change intentions, commercial activities and inclusive governance. The scales thus measure the three formative dimensions identified by Dees and Anderson (2006) and Defourny and Nyssens (2010).
Embracing entrepreneurial action through effectuation in social enterprise
Authors: Weerakoon Chamindika , Gales Byron , McMurray Adela J.
Published: May 2019

Purpose

Mainstream entrepreneurship research tends to adopt either the causation or effectuation perspective in their studies. Yet, the social enterprise literature has largely focussed on the bricolage perspective to explain social entrepreneurial action. The authors argue that when investigating legitimacy driven opportunity pursuit of an enterprise’s pre-emergence stage, all three perspectives of causation, effectuation and bricolage are required. The purpose of this paper was to address the research question how does effectuation determine entrepreneurial action in the pre-emergence of a social enterprise?

Design/methodology/approach

An in-depth single case study approach was used based on the data provided by the founding entrepreneur of Good-Faith Learning social enterprise in Australia.

Findings

The results demonstrated the complementary evolution of the three perspectives. In the following sequence, the effectuation, causation and bricolage actions were identified during the pre-emergence stage of the Good-Faith Learning social enterprise. Specifically, the input–process–output perspective of the study confirmed that the initial stage reflects on the effectual means linked to the causation-based strong articulation of the social vision and mission. The process stage dominates the bricolage approach to resourcing leading to effectual outcomes subsequently. Further, the specific actions of the pre-emergence stage are comprised legitimacy driven symbolic management approaches conveying the entrepreneur’s credibility and commitment, professional organising through website, gut-instinct based team selection, and organisational achievement.

Research limitations/implications

The future research may conduct multiple case study analysis with multiple respondents to observe the consistency or deviations of the patterns identified in this study.

Originality/value

This single case study demonstrates the complementary existence of causation, effectuation and bricolage elements in entrepreneurial actions in a single social enterprise context and advances the social entrepreneurship literature.
Solidarity cooperatives
Authors: Ridley-Duff Rory James , Bull Michael Frederick
Published: May 2019

Purpose

This paper aims to re-evaluate social enterprise (SE) history to pinpoint a pluralist turn in communitarian philosophy during the 1970s, which has the potential to transform labour and consumer rights in enterprise development.

Design/methodology/approach

Through a close examination of model rules created by founders of the FairShares Association (FSA), the authors find that the communitarian origins of SE are disturbingly obscured and hidden.

Findings

In studying FSA documents and building a timeline of the development of the FairShares Model (FSM), the authors found links between SE developments in the UK, continental Europe, Asia, North/South America and the development of solidarity cooperatives.

Research limitations/implications

The authors argue that the discovery of a communitarian pluralist turn advances “new cooperativism” by enfranchising both labour and users in industrial relations (IR). Using this insight, they challenge accounts of SE history and argue for more research on SE’s potential contribution to radical IR.

Originality/value

The paper highlights the potential of the FSM as a vehicle for catalysing new SE and IR practices that share wealth and power more equitably between social entrepreneurs, workforce members, service/product users and community/social investors.
Towards a Global Biodiversity Action Agenda
Authors: Pattberg Philipp , Widerberg Oscar , Kok Marcel T. J.
Published: May 2019

Non‐state and sub‐national actors (e.g. cities, regions and companies) are increasingly taking action to address biodiversity loss. They set up standards and commitments, provide funding, create and disseminate information, and execute projects on the ground. As part of the post‐2020 Global Biodiversity Framework, parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) decided to implement the ‘Sharm El‐Sheikh to Beijing Action Agenda for Nature and People’. While there is general support for a voluntary commitment process, the question now is how the Action agenda should look like, what form voluntary commitments for biodiversity should take and if and how the action agenda could become a meaningful pillar in the post‐2020 global biodiversity framework. A recent study by the authors reveals the actual depth and breadth of biodiversity governance beyond the CBD. This contribution argues that lessons learned from the ongoing climate change action agenda should urgently be taken into account when further developing the biodiversity action agenda.
Sharpshooters: a review of what moves Xylella fastidiosa
Authors: Krugner Rodrigo , Sisterson Mark S , Backus Elaine A , Burbank Lindsey P , Redak Richard A
Published: May 2019

Sharpshooters (Hemiptera: Cicadellidae: Cicadellinae) and spittlebugs (Hemiptera: Aphrophoridae: Aphrophorinae) have a worldwide distribution and are often associated with many crops. Because the geographic range of sharpshooters and spittlebugs often overlaps with the range of the plant pathogenic bacterium Xylella fastidiosa, the importance of these groups of insects in spreading X. fastidiosa rises to the level of a major socioeconomic problem. Managing diseases caused by X. fastidiosa is challenging for several reasons. First, multiple sequence types of the pathogen have been identified, with sequence type affecting host plant specificity. Second, multiple vector species may be present in an agroecosystem, and the host range of vector species is often broad. Although multiple vector control options such as biological, chemical, physical and cultural controls have been described, disease control programs must take into account biological and ecological parameters of locally dominant X. fastidiosa sequence types and vector species to develop suitable control strategies. Our review demonstrates how fundamental principles of vector reproductive biology, behaviour, nutrition and population and community ecology have influenced research on insect vectors and provides insights into priority research areas.
A haplotype variant of Hu sheep follicle‐stimulating hormone receptor promoter region decreases transcriptional activity
Authors: Du X. , Guo J. , Cao Q. Y. , Yao W. , Li Q. F.
Published: May 2019

In sheep, increased expression of the follicle‐stimulating hormone receptor (FSHR) in the ovary is a common feature of ewes that carry the prolific allele. In this study, we demonstrated that polymorphisms in the core promoter of the FSHR gene are associated with the reproductive performance of Hu sheep and are involved in the transcriptional activity of FSHR. An approximately 1.5‐kb region of the 5′ flanking sequence of the Hu sheep FSHR gene was isolated and characterized, and its core promoter was located in the 5′ regulatory region, from nucleotides –580 to –342. Four variants (c.–518T>C, c.–466C>T, c.–414A>G and c.–365C>T) were detected in this region, and six genotypes and three haplotypes were found in the Hu sheep population (n = 245). An association analysis revealed that these polymorphisms are associated with the litter size of Hu ewes. Furthermore, a luciferase assay showed that the T‐C‐A‐C‐ and C‐T‐G‐T‐type core promoters have higher transcriptional activity than does the T‐C‐G‐C type. Notably, the putative binding site for the transcription factor Yin Yang 1 (YY1) was present at the A allele of nucleotide –414, but YY1 can significantly increase the transcriptional activity of the FSHR core promoter, which contains three different haplotypes. Taken together, our results establish that these variants might be involved in regulating the transcriptional activity of FSHR and litter size in Hu ewes and may provide a novel candidate marker for marker‐assisted selection in sheep breeding.
Oral corticosteroid use, morbidity and mortality in asthma: A nationwide prospective cohort study in Sweden
Authors: Ekström Magnus , Nwaru Bright I. , Hasvold Pål , Wiklund Fredrik , Telg Gunilla , Janson Christer
Published: May 2019

Background

Patterns and determinants of long‐term oral corticosteroid (OCS) use in asthma and related morbidity and mortality are not well‐described. In a nationwide asthma cohort in Sweden, we evaluated the patterns and determinants of OCS use and risks of OCS‐related morbidities and mortality.

Methods

Data for 217 993 asthma patients (aged ≥ 6 years) in secondary care were identified between 2007 and 2014 using Swedish national health registries. OCS use at baseline was categorized: regular users (≥5 mg/d/y; n = 3299; 1.5%); periodic users (>0 but <5 mg/d/y; n = 49 930; 22.9%); and nonusers (0 mg/d/y; n = 164 765; 75.6%). Relative risks of becoming a regular OCS user and for morbidity and mortality were analysed using multivariable Cox regression.

Results

At baseline, 24% of asthma patients had used OCS during the last year and 1.5% were regular users. Of those not using OCS at baseline, 26% collected at least one OCS prescription and 1.3% became regular OCS users for at least 1 year during the median follow‐up of 5.3 years. Age at asthma diagnosis, increasing GINA severity and Charlson Comorbidity Index were associated with regular OCS use. Compared to periodic and non‐OCS use, regular use was associated with increased incidence of OCS‐related morbidities and greater all‐cause mortality, adjusted HR 1.34 (95% CI 1.24‐1.45).

Conclusions

Oral corticosteroids use is frequent for asthma patients, and many are regular users. Regular OCS use is associated with increased risk of morbidity and mortality. These findings indicate that there is a need of other treatment options for patients with severe asthma who are using regular OCS.
Key components of learning ecologies: A Delphi assessment
Authors: González‐Sanmamed Mercedes , Muñoz‐Carril Pablo‐César , Santos‐Caamaño Francisco‐José
Published: May 2019

The educational landscape has changed in recent years, requiring reflection about new pedagogical methods and theories. There are three important perspectives as drivers of pedagogical reflection: lifelong and life‐wide learning, the idea of learning as a social construct in which internal elements and changing external factors converge, and the recognition of technology as a resource that can promote ubiquitous and expanded learning. Learning ecology has been proposed as a conceptual and empirical framework, but its still emergent nature along with its multidimensionality and complexity require further exploration. The Delphi study we present as part of a broader research project aims to identify the components of learning ecologies. Three panel rounds with international experts were carried out, after which two important dimensions emerged in the structure of learning ecologies. The first is related to intrinsic “learning dispositions,” which is made up of three categories: the subject's ideas about learning, their motivations and expectations. The second dimension, called “learning processes,” comprises four components: relationships, resources, actions and context. The identification of the components of learning ecologies and their influence on formal, non‐formal and informal training processes will provide guidance for educational policies and help to better organize training programmes.
The Many Meanings of Co‐Operation in the Employment Relationship and Their Implications
Authors: Bray Mark , Budd John W. , Macneil Johanna
Published: May 2019

Co‐operation in the employment relationship continues to be a widely lauded goal, but academics, practitioners and policy makers rarely define the concept or analyse systematically its variants. This is problematic because a lack of clarity is a significant barrier to academic discourse and practical implementation in many organizations and countries. This article therefore carefully develops a framework that results in six key perspectives on co‐operation rooted in five assumptions. In addition to fostering a deeper understanding of co‐operation, these six perspectives can be used to theorize alternative employment relations paradigms when co‐operation rather than conflict is viewed as the central construct. Moreover, a dynamic analysis of these six perspectives adds new insights to understanding the challenges of achieving and sustaining truly co‐operative regimes, while also highlighting the need to go beyond structures and practices by incorporating the role of ideas in analyses of the success or failure of co‐operative efforts.
Experiences of sleep hygiene education as an intervention for sleep problems in children with developmental disabilities: Findings from an exploratory study
Authors: Sutton Julie E. , Huws Jaci C. , Burton Christopher R.
Published: May 2019

Accessible summary

Sleep hygiene education (SHE) is a “behavioural” intervention which helps parents create the best sleeping conditions for their child. It is often used to improve sleep problems that children with developmental disabilities have.

SHE includes advice around creating bedtime routines, creating a calming bedroom environment and eating healthily. Lots of health and social care professionals use SHE, but there are not many research papers which show the best way to support parents to try out the advice.

This research tells the story of nine parents and eleven professionals who have used SHE to help improve children’s sleep problems.

Their experiences are important in the research literature and will help services such as community children’s learning disability teams improve the way SHE is used in the future.

Background

Sleep hygiene education (SHE) is a familiar intervention for addressing behavioural sleep problems in children with developmental disabilities that involves advising parents on sleep‐promoting behaviours; however, it is supported by a limited evidence base.

Materials and methods

This exploratory study aimed to enhance qualitative understanding and explore stakeholder perceptions about experience, current practice and ideas around the implementation of SHE. Parents of children with developmental disabilities and sleep problems (N = 9) and sleep practitioners (N = 11) took part in semi‐structured interviews and focus groups, and data were thematically analysed.

Results and discussion

The analysis identified four parent themes: Beliefs about sleep problems; Getting professional help; Ways of knowing about sleep; and Visions of sleep support. Two practitioner themes were also identified: Sleep service accessibility and Inconsistent sleep support.

Conclusion

The findings provide further insight into how parents of children with developmental disabilities experience sleep problems, and how SHE is currently implemented. These have implications for both policy and practice.
Histidine‐rich glycoprotein ameliorates endothelial barrier dysfunction through regulation of NF‐κB and MAPK signal pathway
Authors: Gao Shangze , Wake Hidenori , Gao Yuan , Wang Dengli , Mori Shuji , Liu Keyue , Teshigawara Kiyoshi , Takahashi Hideo , Nishibori Masahiro
Published: May 2019

Background and Purpose

Microvascular barrier breakdown is a hallmark of sepsis that is associated with sepsis‐induced multiorgan failure. Histidine‐rich glycoprotein (HRG) is a 75‐kDa plasma protein that was demonstrated to improve the survival of septic mice through regulation of cell shape, spontaneous ROS production in neutrophils, and adhesion of neutrophils to vascular endothelial cells. We investigated HRG's role in the LPS/TNF‐α‐induced barrier dysfunction of endothelial cells in vitro and in vivo and the possible mechanism, to clarify the definitive roles of HRG in sepsis.

Experimental Approach

EA.hy 926 endothelial cells were pretreated with HRG or human serum albumin before stimulation with LPS/TNF‐α. A variety of biochemical assays were applied to explore the underlying molecular mechanisms on how HRG protected the barrier function of vascular endothelium.

Key Results

Immunostaining results showed that HRG maintains the endothelial monolayer integrity by inhibiting cytoskeleton reorganization, losses of VE‐cadherin and β‐catenin, focal adhesion kinase degradation, and cell detachment induced by LPS/TNF‐α. HRG also inhibited the cytokine secretion from endothelial cells induced by LPS/TNF‐α, which was associated with reduced NF‐κB activation. Moreover, HRG effectively prevented the LPS/TNF‐α‐induced increase in capillary permeability in vitro and in vivo. Finally, Western blot results demonstrated that HRG prevented the phosphorylation of MAPK family and RhoA activation, which are involved mainly in the regulation of cytoskeleton reorganization and barrier permeability.

Conclusions and Implications

Taken together, our results demonstrate that HRG has protective effects on vascular barrier function in vitro and in vivo, which may be due to the inhibition of MAPK family and Rho activation.
Body mass index and dental caries experience in Nepalese schoolchildren
Authors: Karki Saujanya , Päkkilä Jari , Ryhänen Tapio , Laitala Marja‐Liisa , Humagain Manoj , Ojaniemi Marja , Anttonen Vuokko
Published: May 2019

Objectives

The aim was to investigate the severity of untreated dental caries among Nepalese schoolchildren and its association with their body mass index (BMI) using IOTF, WHO and Nepalese growth reference systems.

Methods

This school‐based clinical cross‐sectional study was conducted with three WHO index age groups (5‐ to 6‐, 12‐ and 15‐year‐olds) in 18 out of 75 districts of Nepal, selected using stratified random sampling. A total of 1135 schoolchildren were included in the study. A validated structured questionnaire was used to assess the children's oral hygiene practices and dietary habits. Clinical oral examinations investigated the status of untreated dental caries in primary and permanent teeth (dt/DT) along with its consequences (pufa/PUFA). Later, the grade of severity of untreated dental caries (GUDC) was determined using both dt/DT and pufa/PUFA. Height (cm), weight (kg), waist circumference (cm) and hip circumference (cm) were measured, and the body mass index (BMI), waist‐to‐hip ratio (WHR) and waist‐to‐height ratio (WHtR) were calculated. The findings were presented as proportions, and the chi‐square test was performed to compare differences between groups. Generalized linear mixed models with random effects assessed the association between the severity of untreated dental caries and the BMI.

Results

According to the IOTF, WHO and Nepalese growth reference systems, the overall proportions of children with a low BMI were 38.6%, 15.4% and 12.8%, and those with a high BMI were 7.9%, 4.6% and 8.4%, respectively. Untreated dental caries was common among the youngest age group and those with infrequent tooth brushing habits or frequent consumption of sweet bakery products, sweets or candy, or tea with sugar. Neither a low nor a high BMI was associated either with dt + DT or with pufa + PUFA, after adjusting for confounders. However, both a low and a high BMI (all three references) were associated with the severity of dental caries or GUDC.

Conclusion

Regardless of the growth reference system used, children with either low or high BMI may be at risk of developing untreated dental caries lesions and related consequences. Both underweight and overweight/obese and dental caries share common risk factors, mostly dietary. Preventive and intervention approaches/strategies such as behavioural and dietary modifications should be implemented to improve both children's oral health and their nutrition in Nepal.
The incidence of endogenous Cushing's syndrome in the modern era
Authors: Wengander Sofie , Trimpou Penelope , Papakokkinou Eleni , Ragnarsson Oskar
Published: May 2019

Introduction

Epidemiological studies on the incidence of Cushing's syndrome (CS) are few and most often includes only patients with the most common form, that is Cushing's disease (CD).

Objective

To analyse the incidence of endogenous CS in an unselected cohort of patients from western Sweden between 2002 and 2017.

Methods

Medical records from patients who had received a diagnostic code for CS and adrenocortical carcinoma in the Västra Götaland County between 2002 and 2017 were reviewed. Eighty‐two patients had been diagnosed with endogenous CS in the region during the study period and were included in this analysis.

Results

Thirty‐nine patients (48%) had CD, 21 (26%) had ectopic ACTH‐producing tumour, 17 (21%) had a benign adrenal CS, and 5 (6%) had cortisol‐producing adrenocortical carcinoma. Nine of 21 (43%) patients with ectopic CS had an ACTH‐producing lung tumour, 4 had a neuroendocrine pancreas tumour, and 5 had an occult tumour. The annual incidence of endogenous CS was 3.2 cases per million/y; 1.5 for CD, 0.8 for ectopic CS, 0.7 for benign adrenal CS and 0.2 for adrenocortical carcinoma.

Conclusions

Approximately three new cases of endogenous CS, per one million inhabitants, were diagnosed annually between 2002 and 2017. Compared with previous reports, proportionally more patients had ectopic CS. The reason for this is unclear although increased awareness of hypercortisolism in patients with malignant tumours in the modern era is a possible explanation.
Prospective evaluation of morbidity in patients who underwent autogenous bone‐graft harvesting from the mandibular symphysis and retromolar regions
Authors: Pereira Rodrigo Santos , Pavelski Maicon D. , Griza Geraldo L. , Boos Fernanda B. J. D. , Hochuli‐Vieira Eduardo
Published: May 2019

Background

Autogenous bone grafts are the most favorable and predictable types of bone graft due to their osteogenic, osteoinductive, and osteoconductive properties. The advantages of harvesting from mandibular bone are that it requires only local anesthesia, is less invasive, has less morbidity, and avoids harvesting from distant sites, thus making it the best choice for maxillary bone reconstruction.

Purpose

The aim of this study was to evaluate inferior alveolar nerve (IAN) neurosensory disturbances after autogenous bone graft harvesting from the mandibular symphysis and retromolar region to reconstruct maxillary sinus height for posterior dental implant placement and the effect of these disturbances on patient satisfaction.

Materials and Methods

Fifty‐four patients were invited to participate in this study. Autogenous bone graft was harvested from the mandibular symphysis and retromolar regions. After the procedure, the patients were evaluated by means of an adapted questionnaire to determine if they had complaints of neurosensory disturbances at the following time intervals: immediately, 1, 2‐5, 6, 7‐11, and 12 months postsurgery.

Results

Immediately after surgery, 28 patients described sensory changes and 25 reported paresthesia of inferior lip. Only three patients reported pain, and one patient experienced dental hypersensitivity after the surgical procedure. During the evaluation period, the patients reported a decrease in paresthesia and a return of sensation to areas innervated by the IAN. After 12 months, five patients still reported paresthesia of areas innervated by the IAN. Beside this, patients reported significant clinical improvement from the beginning of the evaluation, as 49 patients were satisfied with their treatment outcomes.

Conclusion

Harvesting bone grafts from the mandibular symphysis results in greater postoperative morbidity upon immediate evaluation compared with bone graft harvesting from the retromolar region. Nevertheless, during clinical follow‐up, the results of both treatments showed that sensation was eventually recovered, depending on the healing period.
Inferring immune‐associated signatures based on a co‐expression network in Guillain‐Barré syndrome
Authors: Zhang Xiaoming , Zhang Huixue , Liu Zhaojun , Guan Ruoyu , Wang Jianjian , Kong Xiaotong , Chen Lixia , Bo Chunrui , Li Jie , Bai Ming , Lu Xiaoyu , Shen Jia , Wang Lihua , Guo Mian
Published: May 2019

Objectives

Guillain‐Barré syndrome (GBS) is a type of acute autoimmune disease, which occurs in peripheral nerves and their roots. There is extensive evidence that suggests many immune‐associated genes have essential roles in GBS. However, the associations between immune genes and GBS have not been sufficiently examined as most previous studies have only focused on individual genes rather than their entire interaction networks.

Materials and methods

In this study, multiple levels of data including immune‐associated genes, GBS‐associated genes, protein‐protein interaction (PPI) networks and gene expression profiles were integrated, and an immune or GBS‐directed neighbour co‐expressed network (IOGDNC network) and a GBS‐directed neighbour co‐expressed network (GDNC network) were constructed.

Results

Our analysis shows the immune‐associated genes are strongly related to GBS‐associated genes whether at the interaction level or gene expression level. Five immune‐associated modules were also identified which could distinguish between GBS and normal samples. In addition, functional analysis indicated that immune‐associated genes are essential in GBS.

Conclusions

Overall, these results highlight a strong relationship between immune‐associated genes and GBS existed and provide a potential role for immune‐associated genes as novel diagnostic and therapeutic biomarkers for GBS.
Clinical characteristics of pulmonary hypertension patients living in plain and high‐altitude regions
Authors: Lei Si , Sun Zhina , He Xiuqin , Li Cheng , Zhang Yiqing , Luo Xihong , Wu Shangjie
Published: May 2019

Objective

The demographic characteristics, ratio of aetiologies and biochemical parameters of adult patients with pulmonary hypertension (PH) living in plain and high‐altitude regions were investigated and analysed.

Methods

In total, 2846 adult patients with PH hospitalized from 2010 to 2015 in the Second Xiangya Hospital of Central South University and Qinghai Red Cross Hospital were retrospectively investigated.

Results

(1) In the present study, the numbers of patients with PH in both the plain and high‐altitude regions increased annually (P < 0.05), and the in‐hospital prevalence of PH significantly increased over time in the high‐altitude region. PH was more common in women in the plain region. Furthermore, compared with PH patients living in the plain region, those living in the high‐altitude region were older (P < 0.05) and had higher smoking rates (P < 0.05). In the plain region, the greatest proportion of patients with PH belonged to group 2 (PH because of left heart disease), while in the high‐altitude region, group 3 (PH because of lung diseases and/or hypoxia) was the most common (P < 0.05). (2) Haemoglobin levels, red blood cell counts, mean platelet volumes and platelet volume distribution widths were lower in PH patients living in the plain region than in those living in the high‐altitude region. Furthermore, platelet counts were higher in patients living in the plain region than in those living in the high‐altitude region (P < 0.05). The BNP/NT‐proBNP levels were higher in PH patients living in the plain region (45.5%), which were mostly in group 4, than in those living the high‐altitude region (P < 0.05).

Conclusions

The data from the hospitals in both the plain and high‐altitude regions show a tendency towards increased in‐hospital prevalence of PH over the last 6 years. The most common aetiologies of PH in patients living in the plain region and high‐altitude regions were left heart disease and lung disease, respectively. Compared with PH patients living in the plain region, those living in the high‐altitude region had better cardiac function and less severe PH.
Identifying payments for ecosystem services participants through social or spatial targeting? Exploring the outcomes of group level contracts
Authors: McGrath Francesca L. , Leimona Beria , Amaruzaman Sacha , Rahadian Nana P. , Carrasco Luis R.
Published: May 2019

Participants in payments for ecosystem services (PES) schemes can be identified in numerous ways, for example, through social or spatial targeting. However, little is known about how the type of participant targeting will influence the PES outcomes. Using a longstanding PES scheme in Cidanau Indonesia, we evaluate the outcomes of using social and spatial participant identification. The outcomes compared are participant perceptions of equity, understanding, and compliance. This scheme contracts farmers at the group level and has had two implementation phases, the first contracted farmers based on social relationships and the second based on spatial proximity of their plots to reduce monitoring costs. We find that both the social and spatial targeting of participants is perceived as fair, and all participants are complying. Our results thus suggest that the perceived trade‐off between efficiency and equity is not ubiquitous and that efficiency gains were made without compromising compliance and perceived equity. We also find that training for the farmer group (FG) leaders is crucial in ensuring that the rest of the FG members understand the PES scheme and its requirements.