bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
The future of manufacturing industry: a strategic roadmap toward Industry 4.0
Authors: Ghobakhloo Morteza
Published: June 2018

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to conduct a state-of-the-art review of the ongoing research on the Industry 4.0 phenomenon, highlight its key design principles and technology trends, identify its architectural design and offer a strategic roadmap that can serve manufacturers as a simple guide for the process of Industry 4.0 transition.

Design/methodology/approach

The study performs a systematic and content-centric review of literature based on a six-stage approach to identify key design principles and technology trends of Industry 4.0. The study further benefits from a comprehensive content analysis of the 178 documents identified, both manually and via IBM Watson’s natural language processing for advanced text analysis.

Findings

Industry 4.0 is an integrative system of value creation that is comprised of 12 design principles and 14 technology trends. Industry 4.0 is no longer a hype and manufacturers need to get on board sooner rather than later.

Research limitations/implications

The strategic roadmap presented in this study can serve academicians and practitioners as a stepping stone for development of a detailed strategic roadmap for successful transition from traditional manufacturing into the Industry 4.0. However, there is no one-size-fits-all strategy that suits all businesses or industries, meaning that the Industry 4.0 roadmap for each company is idiosyncratic, and should be devised based on company’s core competencies, motivations, capabilities, intent, goals, priorities and budgets.

Practical implications

The first step for transitioning into the Industry 4.0 is the development of a comprehensive strategic roadmap that carefully identifies and plans every single step a manufacturing company needs to take, as well as the timeline, and the costs and benefits associated with each step. The strategic roadmap presented in this study can offer as a holistic view of common steps that manufacturers need to undertake in their transition toward the Industry 4.0.

Originality/value

The study is among the first to identify, cluster and describe design principles and technology trends that are building blocks of the Industry 4.0. The strategic roadmap for Industry 4.0 transition presented in this study is expected to assist contemporary manufacturers to understand what implementing the Industry 4.0 really requires of them and what challenges they might face during the transition process.
Virtual team experiences in an emerging economy: a qualitative study
Authors: Gupta Shubhi , Pathak Govind Swaroop
Published: June 2018

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to document the experiences of team members in order to map the kinds of experiential outcomes that they report while working in virtual teams. The study will help to expand the understanding of various issues related to virtual work arrangements from the perceptions of information technology (IT) professionals in India.

Design/methodology/approach

The study was conducted by adopting an exploratory approach with the use of qualitative methodology. The method of sampling adopted was purposive cum snowball sampling. Semi-structured interviews (face-to-face and telephonic) were conducted by taking a sample of 52 respondents, who are employed by IT organisations. The interviews were recorded digitally, transcribed and analysed by using the content-coding approach followed by a thematic analysis.

Findings

The foremost contribution of the study is that it has considered the various motivators and the skills required to be a successful virtual team player. Significant challenges encountered in virtual teams have also been identified.

Practical implications

Virtual teams in the contemporary business environment are evolving with an unparalleled velocity. The findings of the paper have implications for managers, team leaders and change agents regarding how to transform and sustain in the rapidly changing business context of emerging economies.

Originality/value

In the extant literature on virtual teams very little is known about how individual members perceive this new form of teamwork. The findings of the study advance research on the topic of virtual teams by lending empirical support with respect to the interaction effects between IT and human beings. Recommendations have been provided for individual team members and organisations.
Gender difference and informal competition: evidence from India
Authors: Farooq Omar , Satt Harit , Ramid Souhail
Published: June 2018

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to document how male and female managers respond to competition posed by informal firms.

Design/methodology/approach

The methodology uses the ordered logistic regression and the data provided by the World Bank’s Enterprise Survey to test the arguments for firms headquartered in India.

Findings

The findings show that firms managed by females are more likely to consider informal competition as a bigger obstacle for their operations than firms managed by males. It also shows that this relationship is more pronounced in provinces with weak institutional infrastructure. Lastly, the paper shows that firms managed by females respond to competition from the informal sector by undertaking more innovations than firms managed by males.

Originality/value

This research extends the literature on gender differences in response to competition by documenting how female managers respond to external competition in emerging markets.
Taking stock of firm-level and country-level benefits from foreign direct investment
Authors: Bruno Randolph L. , Campos Nauro F. , Estrin Saul
Published: June 2018

Purpose

This paper aims to conduct a systematic meta-analysis on emerging economies to summarize these effects and throw light on the strength and heterogeneity of these conditionalities.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper proposes a new methodological framework that allows country- and firm-level effects to be combined. The authors hand collected information from 175 studies and around 1,100 estimates in Eastern Europe, Asia, Latin America and Africa from 1940 to 2008.

Findings

The two main findings indicate that “macro” effects are much larger than enterprise-level ones, by a factor of at least six and the benefits from foreign direct investment (FDI) into emerging economies are substantially less “conditional” than commonly thought.

Originality/value

The empirical literature has not reached a conclusion as to whether FDI yields spillovers when the host economies are emerging. Instead, the results are often viewed as conditional. For macro studies, this means that the existence and scale of spillover effects are contingent on the levels of institutional, financial or human capital development attained by the host economies. For enterprise-level studies, conditionality relates to the type of inter-firm linkages, namely, forwards, backwards or horizontal.
Book-to-Market Ratio, return on equity and Brazilian Stock Returns
Authors: Cordeiro da Cunha Araújo Rebeca , André Veras Machado Márcio
Published: June 2018

Purpose

This study aims to analyze the influence of future expectations of the book-to-market ratio (B/M) and return on equity (ROE) in explaining the Brazilian capital market returns.

Design/methodology/approach

The study analyzed the explanatory power of risk-factor approach variables such as beta, size, B/M ratio, momentum and liquidity.

Findings

The results show that future expectations of the B/M ratio and ROE, when combined with proxies for risk factors, were able to explain part of the variations of Brazilian stock returns. With respect to risk factors approach variables, the authors verified the existence of size and B/M effects and a liquidity premium in the Brazilian capital market, during the period analyzed.

Research limitations/implications

This research was limited to the non-financial companies with shares traded at Brasil, Bolsa and Balcão, from January 1, 1995 to June 30, 2015. This way, the conclusions reached are limited to the sample used herein.

Practical implications

The evidences herein presented can also contribute to establishing investment strategies, considering that the B/M ratio may be calculated through accounting information announced by companies. Besides, using historical data enable investors, in a specific year, to calculate the predictor variables for the B/M ratio and ROE in the next year, which enhance the explanatory power of the current B/M, when combined in the form of an aggregate predictor variable for stock returns.

Originality/value

The main contribution of this study to the literature is to demonstrate how the expected future B/M ratio and ROE may improve the explanatory capacity of the stock return, when compared with the variables traditionally studied in the literature.
Co-creation experiences in social media brand communities
Authors: Rialti Riccardo , Caliandro Alessandro , Zollo Lamberto , Ciappei Cristiano
Published: June 2018

Purpose

This paper presents an in-depth investigation on how brands may concur to the co-creation of consumers’ experiences. In particular, the purpose of this paper is to clarify the main types of co-created experiences that consumers may encounter as a result of social media brand communities.

Design/methodology/approach

To identify the main types of co-created experiences, a digital investigation has been used as the main method of analysis. The authors draw their digital investigation on the digital methods paradigm.

Findings

Four principal types of co-created experiences have been identified and conceptualized, namely, brand’s products’ individual usage experiences, auto-celebrative experiences, brand’s products’ communal usage experiences and collective celebration experiences.

Originality/value

Results stress the importance for brand strategists to involve members of social media brand communities to stimulate co-creation experiences. Specifically, it emerges that the simultaneous interaction among members of the community and the brand may directly affect co-creation experiences.
Effectiveness of temozolomide combined with whole brain radiotherapy for non‐small cell lung cancer brain metastases
Authors: Zhu Ying , Fu Lei , Jing Wang , Guo Dong , Kong Li , Yu Jinming
Published: June 2018

Background

We performed a retrospective analysis to compare the efficacy of whole brain radiotherapy (WBRT) combined with temozolomide (TMZ) versus WBRT alone as first‐line treatment for brain metastases (BM).

Methods

Seventy‐eight non‐small cell lung cancer patients with BM were observed, including 45 patients who received WBRT plus TMZ (TMZ + WBRT) and 33 patients who received WBRT alone (WBRT). The primary outcome was overall survival (OS). Secondary outcomes included progression‐free survival (PFS), objective response rate (ORR), and adverse events.

Results

The TMZ + WBRT arm achieved significant improvement in ORR (P = 0.0108) compared to the WBRT arm. PFS in the TMZ + WBRT arm was significantly longer than in the RT arm (6.0 vs. 3.5 months; P = 0.038). OS was not significantly different between the two arms. Although increased adverse reactions were experienced in the TMZ + WBRT arm, patients were tolerant of the side effects. Statistically significant differences in neurocognitive function and quality of life were observed between the arms at six months.

Conclusion

Concomitant TMZ + WBRT compared to WBRT alone significantly increases ORR and median PFS in patients with BM, but no remarkable difference in median OS was found. Adding TMZ to the treatment strategy could prevent neurocognitive function and quality of life from deteriorating. Although the addition of TMZ increases the incidence of adverse effects, no significant difference was observed. Thus, TMZ is safe and effective.
Finding turning‐points in ultra‐high‐resolution animal movement data
Authors: Potts Jonathan R. , Börger Luca , Scantlebury D. Michael , Bennett Nigel C. , Alagaili Abdulaziz , Wilson Rory P.
Published: June 2018

Recent advances in biologging have resulted in animal location data at unprecedentedly high temporal resolutions, sometimes many times per second. However, many current methods for analysing animal movement (e.g. step selection analysis or state‐space modelling) were developed with lower‐resolution data in mind. To make such methods usable with high‐resolution data, we require techniques to identify features within the trajectory where movement deviates from a straight line.

We propose that the intricacies of movement paths, and particularly turns, reflect decisions made by animals so that turn points are particularly relevant to behavioural ecologists. As such, we introduce a fast, accurate algorithm for inferring turning‐points in high‐resolution data. For analysing big data, speed and scalability are vitally important. We test our algorithm on simulated data, where varying amounts of noise were added to paths of straight‐line segments interspersed with turns. We also demonstrate our algorithm on data of free‐ranging oryx Oryx leucoryx. We compare our algorithm to existing statistical techniques for break‐point inference.

The algorithm scales linearly and can analyse several hundred‐thousand data points in a few seconds on a mid‐range desktop computer. It identified turnpoints in simulated data with complete accuracy when the noise in the headings had a standard deviation of ±8∘, well within the tolerance of many modern biologgers. It has comparable accuracy to the existing algorithms tested, and is up to three orders of magnitude faster.

Our algorithm, freely available in R and Python, serves as an initial step in processing ultra high‐resolution animal movement data, resulting in a rarefied path that can be used as an input into many existing step‐and‐turn methods of analysis. The resulting path consists of points where the animal makes a clear turn, and thereby provides valuable data on decisions underlying movement patterns. As such, it provides an important breakthrough required as a starting point for analysing subsecond resolution data.
Intraoperative ketamine administration to prevent delirium or postoperative cognitive dysfunction: A systematic review and meta‐analysis
Authors: Hovaguimian F. , Tschopp C. , Beck‐Schimmer B. , Puhan M.
Published: June 2018

Background

Postoperative cognitive complications are associated with substantial morbidity and mortality. Ketamine has been suggested to have neuroprotective effects in various settings. This systematic review evaluates the effects of intraoperative ketamine administration on postoperative delirium and postoperative cognitive dysfunction (POCD).

Methods

Medline, Embase and Central were searched to 4 March 2018 without date or language restrictions. We considered randomised controlled trials (RCTs) comparing intraoperative ketamine administration versus no intervention in adults undergoing surgery under general anaesthesia. Primary outcomes were postoperative delirium and POCD. Non‐cognitive adverse events, mortality and length of stay were considered as secondary outcomes. Data were independently extracted. The quality of the evidence (GRADE approach) was assessed following recommendations from the Cochrane collaboration. Risk ratios were calculated for binary outcomes, mean differences for continuous outcomes. We planned to explore the effects of age, specific anaesthesia regimen, depth of anaesthesia and intraoperative haemodynamic events through subgroup analyses.

Results

Six RCTs were included. The incidence of postoperative delirium did not differ between groups (4 trials, 557 patients, RR 0.83, 95% CI [0.25, 2.80]), but patients receiving ketamine seemed at lower risk of POCD (3 trials, 163 patients, RR 0.34, 95% CI [0.15, 0.73]). However, both analyses presented limitations. Therefore, the quality of the evidence (GRADE) was deemed low (postoperative delirium) and very low (POCD).

Conclusion

The effect of ketamine on postoperative delirium remains unclear but its administration may offer some protection towards POCD. Large, well‐designed randomised trials are urgently needed to further clarify the efficacy of ketamine on neurocognitive outcomes.
Providers' Perceptions of Caring for Pediatric Patients in Community Hospital Emergency Departments: A Mixed‐methods Analysis
Authors: Goldman Michael P. , Wong Ambrose H. , Bhatnagar Ambika , Emerson Beth L. , Brown Linda L. , Auerbach Marc A.
Published: June 2018

Background

Approximately 90% of pediatric emergency care is provided in community emergency departments (CEDs) that care for both adults and children. Paradoxically, the majority of pediatric emergency medicine knowledge generation, quality improvement work, and clinical training occurs in children's hospitals. There is a paucity of information of perceptions on pediatric care from CED providers. This information is needed to guide the development of strategies to improve CED pediatric readiness.

Objective

The objective was to explore interprofessional CED providers' perceptions of caring for pediatric patients.

Methods

A preparticipation survey collected data on demographics, experience, and comfort in caring for children. Emergency pediatric simulations were then utilized to prime interprofessional teams for debriefings. These discussions underwent qualitative analysis by three blinded authors who coded transcripts into themes through an inductive method derived from grounded theory. The other authors participated in confirmability and dependability checks.

Results

A total of 171 community hospital providers from six CEDs completed surveys (49% nurses, 22% physicians, 23% technicians). The majority were PALS trained (70%) and experienced fewer than five pediatric resuscitations in their careers (61%). Most self‐reported comfort in caring for acutely ill and injured children. From the debriefings, three major challenge themes emerged: 1) knowledge and skill limitations attributed to infrequency of training and actual clinical events, 2) the emotional toll of caring for a sick child, and 3) acknowledgment of pediatric specific quality and safety deficits. Subthemes focused on causes and potential mitigating factors contributing to these challenges. A solution theme highlighted novel partnering opportunities with local children's hospitals.

Conclusion

Interprofessional CED providers perceive that caring for pediatric patients is challenging due to case infrequency, the emotional toll of caring for sick children, and pediatric quality and safety deficits in their systems. These areas of focus can be used to generate specific strategies for improving CED pediatric readiness.
Expression of Concern: The effects of melatonin supplementation on mental health, metabolic and genetic profiles in patients under methadone maintenance treatment
Authors: Ghaderi Amir , Banafshe Hamid Reza , Mirhosseini Naghmeh , Motmaen Maryam , Mehrzad Fatemeh , Bahmani Fereshteh , Aghadavod Esmat , Mansournia Mohammad Ali , Reiter Russel J. , Karimi Mohammad‐Amin , Asemi Zatollah
Published: June 2018

This investigation was designed to determine the effect of melatonin supplementation on mental health parameters, metabolic and genetic profiles in patients under methadone maintenance treatment (MMT). This randomized, double‐blind, placebo‐controlled, clinical trial was conducted among 54 patients under MMT. Participants were randomly allocated to receive either 10 mg melatonin (2 melatonin capsules, 5 mg each) (n = 26) or placebo (n = 28) once a day, 1 hour before bedtime for 12 weeks. Melatonin supplementation significantly decreased Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (β −4.08; 95 percent CI, −5.51, −2.65; P < 0.001), Beck Depression Inventory index (β −5.46; 95% CI, −8.92, −2.00; P = 0.003) and Beck Anxiety Inventory index (β −3.87; 95% CI, −5.96, −1.77; P = 0.001) and significantly increased International Index of Erectile Functions (β 5.59; 95% CI, 1.76, 9.42; P = 0.005) compared with the placebo. Subjects who received melatonin supplements had significantly lower serum insulin levels (β −2.53; 95% CI, −4.48, −0.59; P = 0.01), homeostasis model of assessment‐insulin resistance (β −0.56; 95% CI, −1.03, −0.09; P = 0.01) and higher quantitative insulin sensitivity check index (β 0.01; 95% CI, 0.004, 0.02; P = 0.009) and HDL‐cholesterol levels (β 3.71; 95% CI, 1.77, 5.64; P = 0.002) compared to placebo. Additionally, melatonin intake resulted in a significant reduction in serum high sensitivity C‐reactive protein (β −0.15; 95% CI, −0.27, −0.02; P = 0.02), malondialdehyde (β −0.31; 95% CI, −0.57, −0.05; P = 0.02) and protein carbonyl (β −0.06; 95% CI, −0.09, −0.04; P < 0.001). This trial indicated that taking melatonin supplements for 12 weeks by patients under MMT had beneficial effects on their mental health metabolic profiles.
Does a nutritious diet cost more in food deserts?
Authors: Fan Linlin , Baylis Kathy , Gundersen Craig , Ploeg Michele Ver
Published: June 2018

Food deserts and their potential effects on diet and nutrition have received much attention from policymakers. While some research has found a correlation between food deserts and consumer outcomes, it is unclear whether food deserts truly affect consumer choices. In this article, we compare food prices in food deserts, defined as low‐income, low‐access census tracts, and nonfood deserts to observe whether and to what extent consumers face higher prices for a complete diet in food deserts. If a nutritionally complete diet costs significantly more in food deserts, resident consumers may be constrained from consuming healthier foods. We use store‐level scanner data from a nationally representative sample and calculate a census‐tract level Exact Price Index (EPI) based on a food basket defined by the Thrifty Food Plan (TFP). The EPI addresses potential biases from both product heterogeneity and variety availability. We find that the overall price impact of living in a food desert is small; low‐access areas have only 3.5% higher EPI than high‐access counterparts. However, consumers who are constrained to shop within their own census tracts face a much higher EPI than high‐access counterparts (9.2%). The higher EPI primarily comes from lower variety availability in food deserts.
Computer‐assisted analysis of tongue thickness of golden hamster (Mesocricetus auratus) following topical chronic exposure to distilled alcoholic beverages
Authors: Moreira Rafaela N. , Marinho Sandra A. , Verli Flaviana D. , Douglas‐de‐Oliveira Dhelfeson W. , Mesquita Ana Terezinha , Lima Nádia L.
Published: June 2018

The aim of this study was to measure changes in epithelial thickness in the lingual mucosa of golden hamsters submitted to the topical application of distilled alcoholic beverages. Forty golden hamsters were randomly divided into: Group 1—cachaça 48° GL and Group 2—whisky 40° GL. Alcohol was applied to the right side of the tongue, the left side served as control. Seventy microscopic fields were evaluated. The data were submitted to descriptive statistics, the Wilcoxon test and the Mann–Whitney U test (p < 0.05). In Group 1, there was a significant difference in mean total epithelial thickness between the test side and control side (p = 0.044), with significant reductions in the thickness of the epithelial and corneal layers (p < 0.001 and p = 0.021, respectively). At 13 weeks, statistically significant reductions were found in the thickness of both the corneal and epithelial layers (p = 0.032 and p < 001, respectively). At 20 weeks, a statistically significant reduction was found in only the epithelial layer (p = 0.002). In the whisky group, significant increases were found in the thickness of the corneal and epithelial layers (p = 0.015 and p = 0.012, respectively) at 13 weeks. Cachaça 48° GL promoted epithelial atrophy, whereas whisky 40° GL promoted epithelial hyperplasia. Based on the present findings, different types of distilled alcoholic beverages cause different morphometric and morphological changes in the lingual mucosa. Cachaça caused epithelial atrophy, which may facilitate the penetration of carcinogenic agents, whereas whisky caused epithelial hyperplasia, especially in the basal layer, which suggests the onset of the development of premalignant lesions.
Mediating role of neuroticism in the association between loneliness and cognitive function among community‐dwelling older adults
Authors: Foong Hui Foh , Hamid Tengku Aizan , Ibrahim Rahimah , Haron Sharifah Azizah
Published: June 2018

Objective

The main aim of this study was to examine whether neuroticism mediates the association between loneliness and cognitive function in older adults.

Methods

This study involved 2322 representative community residents aged 60–92 years in Peninsular Malaysia. Cognition was measured by Mini‐Mental State Examination (MMSE), loneliness was assessed by three‐item loneliness scale, and neuroticism was assessed by the Short‐Form Revised Eysenck Personality Questionnaire. Hierarchical multiple linear regression and Sobel tests were used for mediation analyses.

Results

Both loneliness (β = −0.04, P = 0.03) and neuroticism (β = −0.07, P < 0.001) were negatively and significantly associated with cognitive function, and most importantly, neuroticism mediated the association between loneliness and cognition (from β = −0.04, P = 0.03 to β = −0.03, P = 0.10).

Conclusion

Neuroticism may be the potential mechanism underlying the relationship between loneliness and cognitive function in older persons.
Re‐inventing the randomized controlled trial in medical oncology: The registry‐based trial
Authors: Foroughi Siavash , Wong Hui‐li , Gately Lucy , Lee Margaret , Simons Koen , Tie Jeanne , Burgess Antony Wilks , Gibbs Peter
Published: June 2018

Substantial progress has recently been made in optimizing the management of cancer patients, resulting in major gains in survival and quality of life. Much of this progress has resulted from the serial testing of promising treatment strategies, typically using prospective randomized controlled trials to compare outcomes achieved with the new approach versus the current standard(s) of care. However, there is an ever‐expanding list of important questions that are difficult to investigate, particularly with respect to determining the optimal sequencing and combination of proven active agents. With the rapidly growing list of clinical, pathologic and molecular characteristics that promise to predict treatment benefit and/or risk for defined patient subsets, many new questions regarding how best to personalize our approach to treatment selection are emerging. These questions can be investigated in the context of registry‐based randomized clinical trials. Recently, the potential of registry‐based randomized clinical trials was demonstrated in cardiology, highlighting the ability to rapidly recruit large numbers of patients to a trial addressing an important clinical question, with minimal cost and high external validity. In this review, we discuss the challenges and limitations of conventional clinical trials in multidisciplinary cancer care, describe the potential advantages of registry‐based randomized trials, and highlight several registry‐based oncology studies that are already underway to demonstrate the feasibility of this approach.
When Toleration Becomes a Vice: Naming Aristotle's Third Unnamed Virtue
Authors: Avramenko Richard , Promisel Michael
Published: June 2018

Toleration is lauded as a chief virtue of contemporary liberalism. Without this virtue, it seems, citizens are ill‐equipped to reconcile ethical disagreements appropriately in pluralistic societies. In recent scholarship and practice, however, toleration has undergone significant transformation. The tolerant citizen, we are told, avoids causing the discomfort or pain associated with uncomfortable conversations, criticism, or even difference of opinion. Regrettably, this understanding of toleration hinders rather than facilitates dialogue and conflates pain or discomfort with cruelty. To offer a more viable theoretical grounding for toleration, this article turns to the third unnamed virtue of Aristotle's Nicomachean Ethics. When conceptualized as an Aristotelian moral virtue with vices of both deficiency and excess, it is clear how toleration, taken too far, becomes a vice. Moreover, Aristotle's principles of contextual sensitivity, other‐regarding virtue, and non‐cruel pain constitute a better foundation for restoring toleration as a healthy virtue for liberal citizens.
Comparing Japan and the United States on individualism/collectivism: A follow‐up review
Authors: Takano Yohtaro , Osaka Eiko
Published: June 2018

It has been long believed that the Japanese are typical collectivists whereas Americans are typical individualists. To examine the validity of this common view, we formerly reviewed 15 empirical studies that compared Japanese and Americans regarding individualism/collectivism (I/C), and found that the overwhelming majority of those studies had not supported the common view (Takano & Osaka, ). In this follow‐up, we reviewed 20 additional empirical studies (7 behavioral studies, 13 questionnaire studies), most of which had been published after the former review. When combined with the formerly reviewed 15 studies, 19 studies reported no clear difference, and 11 studies reported that Japanese were more individualistic than Americans. These 30 studies are inconsistent with the common view. Only 5 studies supported the common view, even when we included 3 studies whose validity was questionable. After it was formerly found that the common view was not supported empirically, a variety of alternative accounts were presented regarding the reason for this finding. We examined three major accounts in light of the reviewed studies and found that none of them was congruent with the empirical data. Thus, it seems to be reasonable to conclude that the common view is not valid.
A systematic review of the management and outcomes of cecal and appendiceal volvulus in children
Authors: Miura da Costa Karina , Saxena Amulya Kumar
Published: June 2018

Aim

Appendiceal volvulus (AV) and cecal volvulus (CV) are rare conditions and there is no consensus regarding the best surgical approach. This study reviewed CV and AV management and outcomes in children.

Methods

PubMed was reviewed from 1990 to 2018 for AV and CV in children and studies published in English were selected by two independent reviewers. This identified 24 papers that provided case reports on 29 children (72% male) with a median age of 10 years.

Results

Abdominal distension and abdominal pain were the most common symptoms and seven children had Cornelia de Lange syndrome. The initial treatment was surgical in 27 cases and endoscopic in 2. In 23 children, variants of cecopexy were performed. There was no mortality. Complications occurred in seven cases: five with sepsis and two with enterocutaneous fistulas. There were three CV recurrences and these were all in cases where cecopexy was not performed.

Conclusion

AV and CV are rare paediatric pathologies. Since a quarter of the patients had Cornelia de Lange syndrome, it is paramount to consider CV when abdominal symptoms occur. Complications were minor with prompt management. In order to reduce recurrence, cecopexy is recommended in CV cases and appendectomy in AV cases.
Serum glutamate was elevated in children aged 3–10 years with autism spectrum disorders when they were compared with controls
Authors: Khalifa D , Shahin O , Salem D , Raafat O
Published: June 2018

Aim

This study aimed to see whether measuring serum glutamate in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) could provide a biological marker that could allow early intervention.

Methods

Serum glutamate was measured in 30 patients aged 3–10 years presenting with ASD to the Abou El Reesh Hospitals, Cairo University, Egypt and 30 matched controls without ASD in 2015. The Vineland Social Maturity Scale was applied to assess social competence, self‐ help skills and adaptive behaviour in both groups. The severity of autism was measured with the Childhood Autism Rating Scale test.

Results

The patients’ group showed higher mean values of serum glutamate (5.888) than the control group (2.521) and the statistical difference was significant (p = 0.00021). There was no significant difference (p = 0.151) in the serum level of glutamate between patients receiving 1–2 mg of risperidone (6.519 ± 2.851) and those who were free from any medication for at least six weeks (5.157 ± 2.184).

Conclusion

We found higher levels of serum glutamate in subjects with ASD and this might reflect altered glutamatergic neurotransmission which may aid early ASD detection. Further investigations are needed with a large number of participants to further clarify the possibility of using glutamate as a biomarker for ASD.
Prediction of enteric methane emission from beef cattle in Southeast Asia
Authors: Suzuki Tomoyuki , Sommart Kritapon , Angthong Wanna , Nguyen Thu Van , Chaokaur Anan , Nitipot Peerapot , Phromloungsri Arun , Cai Yimin , Sakai Takashi , Nishida Takehiro , Terada Fuminori , Kawashima Tomoyuki
Published: June 2018

We conducted a meta‐data analysis to develop prediction equations to estimate enteric methane (CH4) emission from beef cattle in Southeast Asia. The dataset was obtained from 25 studies, which included 332 individual observations on nutrient intakes, digestibilities, and CH4 emissions. Cattle were provided tropical forage or rice straw, with or without concentrates in individual pens equipped with indirect open‐circuit head hood apparatus. The simplest and best equation to predict daily CH4 emission was CH4 (g/day) = 22.71 (±1.008) × dry matter intake (DMI, kg/day) + 8.91 (±10.896) [R2 = 0.77; root mean square error (RMSE) = 19.363 g/day]. The best equation to predict CH4 energy as a proportion of gross energy intake (CH4‐E/GEI, J/100 J) was obtained using DMI per body weight (DMIBW, kg/100 kg), content (g/100 g DM) of ether extract (EE) and crude protein (CP), and DM digestibility (DMD, g/100 g); CH4‐E/GEI = −0.782 (±0.2526) DMIBW − 0.436 (±0.0548) EE − 0.073 (±0.0218) CP + 0.049 (±0.0097) DMD + 8.654 (±0.6517) (R2 = 0.39; RMSE = 1.3479 J/100 J GEI). It was indicated that CH4 emissions from beef cattle in Southeast Asia are predictable using present developed models including simple indices.
Maternal obesity stimulates lipotoxicity and up‐regulates inflammatory signaling pathways in the full‐term swine placenta
Authors: Liang Tian , Jinglong Xie , Shusheng Dong , Aiyou Wen
Published: June 2018

This study aimed to investigate the effects of back‐fat thickness (BF), at mating of sows, on placental lipotoxicity, oxidative stress, and inflammation. We performed iTRAQ labeling‐based proteomic analysis on term placentas obtained by vaginal delivery from BFI (15–20 mm, control) and BFII (21–27 mm, obese) sows formed according to BF at mating. Proteomic analysis revealed 413 proteins to be significantly different in placenta from BFII sows by ≥1.2‐fold. Gene ontology (GO) analysis identified proteins related to lipid metabolism and inflammatory response to be altered in placenta from obese sows. Indicative of a lipotoxic placental environment, increased placental lipid, and up‐regulated mRNA expression of lipogenic genes, including ADRP (p = .06), PPARD, FASN, ACACA, DGAT1, and LIPIN3, were associated with decreased AMPK and increased activation of WNT signaling in placenta from BFII group (p < .05). Furthermore, we observed a 18% decrease in total antioxidant capacity (TAC), increased mRNA content of pro‐inflammatory cytokines IL‐6, IL‐18, and TNF‐α, and increased activation of inflammatory NF‐κB and JNK signaling in placenta from BFII sows that was significantly associated with macrophage accumulation (p < .05). These findings suggest that maternal obesity aggravates a lipotoxic environment in pig term placenta that may be associated with placental dysfunction and impaired fetal growth.
Taxonomic and functional facets of the resilience to management of mown subalpine grasslands
Authors: Lochon Iris , Colace Marie‐Pascale , Devaux Caroline , Grigulis Karl , Rettinger Ricarda , Lavorel Sandra
Published: June 2018

Questions

Sustaining ecosystem services for society in the face of global change is a major challenge. Resilience, an ecosystem's ability to absorb disturbance and return to its initial functioning, is critical for this. We assessed the resilience of mown subalpine grasslands following restoration management. Using a novel multi‐indicator approach, we asked how different taxonomic and functional facets of biodiversity influence resilience mechanisms. We demonstrated this approach for a case study in subalpine grasslands, asking: how resilient are grasslands dominated by Patzkea paniculata and their agronomic services to changing mowing regimes?

Location

Villar d'Arène, Hautes‐Alpes, Provence‐Alpes‐Côte d'Azur, France. Boundary area of Ecrins National Park.

Methods

A manipulative experiment tested the reciprocal effects of mowing cessation and mowing resumption for 10 years. We analysed floristic composition data following four steps. First, we used the Community Structure Integrity Index (CSII; Jaunatre et al., ) to obtain qualitative and quantitative summaries of taxonomic responses. The second step focused on taxonomic biodiversity using species richness, Simpson and Pielou indices, and responsive species identified in the first step. Third, we analysed functional diversity responses using functional groups and community weighted mean (CWM) of vegetative plant traits. Finally, we quantified ecosystem services impacts by estimating fodder quantity and quality using trait‐based models.

Results

The mowing manipulation demonstrated the high resilience of P. paniculata grasslands and revealed reversibility of transitions between mown and unmown states. By reducing the abundance of P. paniculata, the resumption of mowing restored forage quality. Supported by a complementary case study on post‐disturbance re‐sowing in hay meadows, this study demonstrates the resilience of mown subalpine grasslands to management change and explores underlying belowground mechanisms of vegetative regeneration and belowground reserves.

Conclusion

Our novel multi‐indicator approach provides multifaceted mechanistic understanding necessary to anticipate impacts of socio‐ecological changes and to maintain the multiple benefits of mountain grasslands. Addressing the different facets of biodiversity from abundance data that are systematically collected in impact or monitoring assessment, this approach provides a common framework, widely applicable to different types of restoration or management interventions, across regions and biota.
A classroom intervention to improve executive functions in late primary school children: Too ‘old’ for improvements?
Authors: Benzing Valentin , Schmidt Mirko , Jäger Katja , Egger Fabienne , Conzelmann Achim , Roebers Claudia M.
Published: June 2018

Background

Given the strong relationship between executive functions and academic achievement, there has been great interest in improving executive functions. School‐based group interventions targeting executive functions revealed encouraging results in preschoolers and young school children; however, there is a paucity of studies in older primary school children (age 10–12). This is surprising considering that deficits in executive function performance can often be observed in this age group.

Aims

Therefore, the aim of this study was to examine whether an innovative customized school‐based group intervention could improve core executive functions (updating, inhibition, and shifting) in the age group concerned.

Sample

In total, 118 ten‐ to twelve‐year‐old school children were recruited from eight participating classes.

Methods

They were randomly assigned to one of two‐six‐week conditions of either a cognitive games group comprising of card and board games training executive functions (experimental group) or a wait‐list control group (regular school lessons). In the cognitive games group, the class teachers held a 30‐min training session twice a week. ANCOVAs (using pre‐test values as covariate) were used to compare executive function performance between groups.

Results

Results revealed that the cognitive games group improved specific executive functions (updating and shifting) compared to the control group. These findings indicate that a school‐based group intervention can improve executive functions, even in ‘older’ primary school children.

Conclusion

This study provides empirical evidence for the effectiveness of a classroom‐based cognitive training in older primary school children and is of practical relevance for educators.
Effects of instructor's facial expressions on students' learning with video lectures
Authors: Wang Yang , Liu Qingtang , Chen Wenli , Wang Qiyun , Stein David
Published: June 2018

This study investigated whether video lectures instructed by a heightened level of expressiveness instructor were better than those instructed by a conventional level of expressiveness instructor or audio‐only in promoting students' online learning, and what kind of effects do instructor's facial expressions have on students' learning. Three different types of video lectures (one with a heightened level of expressiveness instructor, one with a conventional level of expressiveness instructor and one with the instructor' audio only) were used to study the effects of instructor's facial expressions. Sixty‐nine participants from Chinese Normal University were selected to learn with these video lectures. Results of this study indicated that video lectures with a heightened level of expressiveness instructor were better than those with a conventional level of expressiveness instructor and audio‐only ones with regard to improving students' arousal level and learning satisfaction. Instructor's facial expressions had no significant influence on participants' short‐term recall (p = .90), while instructor's facial expressions did influence students' medium‐term recall (p = .03). Instructor's facial expressions played a key role in students' online learning.
MicroRNAs as potential biomarkers for the diagnosis of glioma: A systematic review and meta‐analysis
Authors: Zhou Qian , Liu Jing , Quan Jing , Liu Wenlan , Tan Hui , Li Weiping
Published: June 2018

Glioma is the most common central nervous system tumor and associated with poor prognosis. Identifying effective diagnostic biomarkers for glioma is particularly important in order to guide optimizing treatment. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) have drawn much attention because of their diagnostic value in diverse cancers, including glioma. We summarized studies to identify the potential diagnostic values of miRNAs in glioma patients. We included articles reporting miRNAs for differentiation of glioma patients from controls. We calculated sensitivities, specificities, and area under the curves (AUC) of individual miRNA and miRNA panels. We found that overall sensitivity, specificity, and AUC of miRNAs in diagnosis of glioma were 85% (95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.81‐0.89), 90% (95% CI 0.85‐0.93), and 93% (95% CI 0.91‐0.95), respectively. Meta‐regression analysis showed that the detection of miRNAs expression in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) and brain tissue largely improved the diagnostic accuracy. Likewise, panels of multiple miRNAs could enhance the pooled sensitivity. Moreover, AUC of miR‐21 was 0.88, with 86% sensitivity and 94% specificity. This study demonstrated that miRNAs could function as potential diagnosis markers in glioma. Detection of miRNAs in CSF and brain tissue displays high accuracy in the diagnosis of glioma.
Programmed cell death ligand‐1 protein expression and CD274/PD‐L1 gene amplification in colorectal cancer: Implications for prognosis
Authors: Lee Kyu Sang , Kim Bo Hyung , Oh Heung‐Kwon , Kim Duck‐Woo , Kang Sung‐Bum , Kim Hyunchul , Shin Eun
Published: June 2018

Programmed cell death ligand‐1 (PD‐L1) detection assays have not been standardized for patients with colorectal cancer, and the prognostic value of PD‐L1 expression is unclear. We compared the PD‐L1 expression patterns in colorectal cancer samples using various immunohistochemical assays using 3 primary PD‐L1 antibodies (assay 1, MIH1; assay 2, E1L3; and assay 3, 22C3) and investigated the prognostic implication of PD‐L1 expression using each. Additionally, PD‐L1 gene amplification was evaluated using FISH. The percentage scorings and positivity rates of the 3 assays differed; the degrees of correlation and concordance between assays 2 and 3 were relatively high, whereas assay 1 was an outlier. Multivariate analyses indicated that PD‐L1 positivity in tumor cells and its negativity in tumor‐infiltrating lymphocytes were independent predictors of poorer overall and disease‐free survival in patients with colorectal cancer. PD‐L1 gene amplification was found in 2 patients (PD‐L1/CEP ratio, 5.60 and 5.84, respectively); both had strong PD‐L1 expression according to immunohistochemistry. Overall, our study showed that PD‐L1 expression status in tumor and immune cells is an independent prognostic factor in patients with colorectal cancer. Standardizations of both PD‐L1 detection using immunohistochemistry and the cut‐off for positivity are necessary. Finally, PD‐L1 gene amplification was found in a small fraction of samples, suggesting the possibility of an ancillary test for PD‐L1 evaluation.
Echoes of Early Life: Recent Insights From Mathematical Modeling
Authors: Frankenhuis Willem E. , Nettle Daniel , McNamara John M.
Published: June 2018

In the last decades, developmental origins of health and disease (DOHaD) has emerged as a central framework for studying early‐life effects, that is, the impact of fetal and early postnatal experience on adult functioning. Apace with empirical progress, theoreticians have built mathematical models that provide novel insights for DOHaD. This article focuses on three of these insights, which show the power of environmental noise (i.e., imperfect indicators of current and future conditions) in shaping development. Such noise can produce: (a) detrimental outcomes even in ontogenetically stable environments, (b) individual differences in sensitive periods, and (c) early‐life effects tailored to predicted future somatic states. We argue that these insights extend DOHaD and offer new research directions.