bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Participant’s preferences for small-scale sporting events
Authors: Fotiadis Anestis , Vassiliadis Chris , Yeh Shang-Pao
Published: June 2016

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to investigate sports participants’ choice behaviour and draw useful conclusions about the ideal features of small-scale sporting events that maximize attractiveness and desirability among potential competitors to attend and compete.

Design/methodology/approach

– Conjoint analysis was used to determine how participants value different elements and features of two small-scale cycling events, one in Taiwan and the other in Greece. A questionnaire was developed and distributed to 195 cyclists during the event in Kaohsiung, Taiwan and to 169 competitors of a similar competition in Sfendami, Greece. It consisted of two basic parts. The first presented 19 alternative scenarios that have been associated with such sporting events while the second assessed the socio-economic and demographic characteristics of participant’s in order to provide an average profile of the participants in each location. The conjoint data collected was analysed using the SPSS “Conjoint Module” at the aggregate level (i.e. pooled data).

Findings

– Based on the preferences of these amateur cyclists the most important factors for Taiwanese events are “preferred season to organizing the event”, “registration cost”, and “preferred time period”, while those participating in the Greek event emphasized “registration cost” and “scenery”. Overall, the analysis highlights five differences and five similarities that exist between these two countries.

Research limitations/implications

– The study is small-scale and although sample sizes are sufficient to be representative of the participants in each event there are limitations in generalizing these results to larger sports meetings and other countries.

Practical implications

– The findings of this study provide event coordinators and sport marketers practical insights into small-scale event planning and the development of effective marketing strategies designed to appeal to a greater range of participants. Furthermore, the comparative nature of the study can facilitate a transfer of know-how which can be used for development of sport events in Mediterranean area, whose sport events’ organizers can, in the future, more effectively approach potential East Asian participants.

Originality/value

– This is the first study to use a combination of seven parameters in conjoint analysis to examine amateur cyclists’ preferences and is one on the few studies to examine the differences between Asian and European participants.
Why personal change is important for a conscious leader
Authors: Carson Floyd
Published: June 2016

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate why personal change is important for a conscious leader and provide four actionable traits a leader can implement to make a greater impact with the people they lead. The model is to become aware, make changes and see if those changes make the difference you want in your life. If not take different actions until you get the results you want. As this action model becomes a habit, this drives more and more confidence and courage in the leader as they are seeing the positive changes manifest in their life.

Design/methodology/approach

– The approach I used for the paper is to layout real examples that show the negative impact leaders are causing to their people and organisations. I then use a client example and how she was able to make a personal change using four conscious traits. The work represented in this paper is through first-hand experience and client stories from my coaching. Survey information provided is subjective through informal questioning.

Findings

– The majority of people (∼73 per cent) who I have queried about leaders they have worked for highlight they were unmemorable and made no impact on inspiring them. Through my coaching I have found leaders who commit and follow through with making the personal change to be a conscious leader and use the four traits the paper highlights, see positive impacts in their own life and in the people they lead.

Originality/value

– Being a conscious leader is a new emerging area in leadership and those leaders who make it part of their leadership are seeing the positive impacts it is creating with their people and teams. The payoff is the leader becomes an example for others of what personal change can achieve and they become conscious of their behaviours. This awareness allows them to decide is this how I want to be and what I want to be remembered for. This transformation then drives great confidence and courage to be a better leader that benefits everyone in their network.
In control? IQC consensus and statutory regulation
Authors: Lee Graham R. , Fitzgibbon Maria C. , O'Shea Paula
Published: June 2016

Purpose

– Internal quality control (IQC) represents an essential risk management tool within the total testing pathway (TTP) that contributes to the overall objective of assuring the quality of results produced in medical laboratories. Controlling analytical phase quality alone requires significant expertise and input by scientifically trained staff. This effort has escalated exponentially following the publication of the International Organisation for Standardisation (ISO)15189:2012 requirements for quality and competence in medical laboratories. The reported inconsistency and diversity to IQC approaches in diagnostic laboratories is definitive evidence that international guidance in IQC programme design and implementation is long overdue. The paper aims to discuss these issues.

Design/methodology/approach

– Herein, the authors define, describe and critically examine the essential elements four stages of an IQC programme and suggest a template to inform both design and ease of implementation. For practical application, the authors have stratified the proposed methodology into four stages: staff education and training; IQC material; IQC targets; and IQC procedure, and provide recommendations that meet ISO15189:2012 requirements.

Findings

– These recommendations are informed by the published literature together with the collective experience working in clinical biochemistry and diagnostic endocrinology laboratories. The authors note that the laboratory staff’s effort on IQC is a continuous process, driven by changes within each IQC stage, in response to risk analysis, maximising economic value or through professional leadership and central to IQC programme implementation and delivery.

Practical implications

– The authors offer a template that laboratories can use to inform the design and implementation of their IQC programme.

Originality/value

– The proposed IQC programme is user friendly, flexible and pragmatic with the potential to harmonise practice. The authors have provided a template to potentially harmonise IQC practice nationally. Given the central and critical role that IQC practice plays in ensuring the quality of patient results’ importance, the authors contend that the time has come for international consensus and statutory regulation regarding the minimally acceptable criteria for its implementation, monitoring and review.
Growing corporate social responsibility communication through online social networking in Iran
Authors: Farivar Farveh , Scott-Ladd Brenda
Published: June 2016

Purpose

This purpose of this paper is to investigate Iranian manager’s perceptions towards the use of online social networking (OSN) for improving corporate social responsibility (CSR) communication.

Design/methodology/approach

The websites and Facebook pages of 23 companies that had won National Excellence Awards for CSR were reviewed in 2011, and 15 managers from across these participated in a survey, to assess the extent these companies used online facilities to develop CSR practices. These interviews raised awareness of the potential of OSN, so company websites and Facebook pages were reviewed again in 2013 to assess changes to CSR and OSN practices.

Findings

Despite recognition for their high level of awareness and implementation of CSR practices analysis of the initial surveys indicated that OSN uptake among the respondent companies was poor in 2011. Managers saw little value in using OSN to promote and engage with CSR; however, the level of engagement and uptake had substantially increased by 2013.

Originality/value

This study is one of the first to evaluate the use of OSN to improve CSR in a developing country. The study examines managers’ perceptions of the effect of OSN on CSR. Findings suggest that once management became aware of the value of social networking, they used it to engage with stakeholders from the marketplace, community and workplace to promote their business and for CSR-related issues. This rapid uptake demonstrates how quickly OSN technology can be implemented once its potential is identified.
Explaining attribution in information technology projects
Authors: Standing Oliver , Standing Susan , Kordt Eric
Published: June 2016

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to explore the relationship between project failure and success and an individual’s attributional style and level of seniority. Information technology (IT)-related projects are often complex because of the need to work with a range of stakeholders and satisfy diverse expectations, and thus projects often fail.

Design/methodology/approach

A case study of a large government organisation was undertaken: interviews and focus groups were conducted and used as primary data for qualitative analysis.

Findings

Line and executive managers have the tendency to increasingly make more pessimistic attributions than support workers, believing that failure was likely to persist in the future because of the inability to influence management and stakeholders. Support workers have the tendency to be more optimistic than line and executive managers and this has implications for self-serving evaluation practices.

Originality/value

The application of the attribution theory provides insights into project success and failure and the discrepancies between line managers’ and employees’ job satisfaction.
Classroom innovation through 3D printing
Authors: Elrod Rachael E.
Published: June 2016

Purpose

Three-dimensional (3D) printing, also known as additive manufacturing, is a growing field for many professionals, including those in education. The purpose of this paper is to briefly review various ways in which 3D printing is being used to enhance classroom learning in the K-12 environment and to highlight how one academic library is supporting that endeavor.

Design/methodology/approach

According to “3D Printing Market in Education”, which reports on the anticipated development of 3D printing in the educational market for 2015-2019, 3D printing is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 45 per cent (Business Wire).

Findings

In 2012, an article in The Economist declared 3D printing “the third industrial revolution”. The following year, President Obama, in his State of the Union address lauded 3D printing saying, “A once shuttered warehouse is now a state-of-the-art lab where new workers are mastering the 3D printing that has the potential to revolutionize the way we make almost everything” (Gross, 2013).

Originality/value

In China, 3D printer manufacturer Tiertime estimates that “90 per cent of its domestic market share comes from school laboratories, which need desktop 3D printers so students can learn, experience and design” (China taps 3D printing consumer market, 2015).
Team coordination and organizational routines: bottoms up – and top down
Authors: Banks George Christopher , Pollack Jeffrey M. , Seers Anson
Published: June 2016

Purpose

– Conceptualizations of work coordination historically assumed that work systems are put into place and that these systems shape the ability of workers to accomplish tasks. Formalization has thus long been invoked as an explanatory mechanism for work coordination. Recent studies have extended interest in emergent implicit and relational coordination, yet their underlying mechanisms of bottom-up coordination have yet to be explicated such that formal top-down coordination can be approached as a complementary mechanism rather than an alternative substitute. The purpose of this paper is to integrate the literatures related to coordination and routines, and extend analysis of bottom-up coordination toward an understanding of how it can be complemented by top-down formalized coordination of routines within organizations. Implications of this work, for both theory and practice, are discussed.

Design/methodology/approach

– A conceptual review was conducted.

Findings

– By integrating the literatures related to coordination and routines, the authors extend analysis of bottom-up coordination toward an understanding of how it can be complemented by top-down formalized coordination of routines within organizations.

Research limitations/implications

– From a theory-based point of view, in the present work, the authors integrated the literatures related to coordination and routines and arrived at the conclusion that bottom-up coordination can be complemented by top-down formalized coordination of routines within organizations.

Practical implications

– The authors suggest that there is a need in the contemporary workplace for implicit, relational processes to enable individuals to continuously assess what changes are needed and adapt coordinated routines to accomplish the task at hand. This propensity will continue to increase as technology facilitates even more seamless communication among employees, organizations, and external partners.

Originality/value

– For the first time the authors integrate the literatures related to coordination and routines, in order to extend analysis of bottom-up coordination toward an understanding of how it can be complemented by top-down formalized coordination of routines within organizations.
The influence of tax and regulatory policies on entrepreneurs’ opportunity evaluation decisions
Authors: Wood Matthew S. , Bylund Per , Bradley Steven
Published: June 2016

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to investigate effects of policy initiatives on entrepreneurs’ opportunity evaluation decisions.

Design/methodology/approach

– Factors were selected from real world policy initiatives. The model pricing power as a traditional economic base rate attribute and then considering how variance in use fees and reporting requirements changes the base rate relationship. The factors served as decision attributes in a conjoint analysis experiment. A total of 126 entrepreneurs made 2,268 opportunity evaluation decisions.

Findings

– While increases in pricing power result in a positive upward base rate opportunity evaluation, government mandated use fees and reporting requirements diminish the base rate toward the negative. This suggest that that even though the likely profits are much higher with the significant pricing power opportunity, entrepreneurs heavily discount these opportunities because they view the combination of economic costs of paying high use fees and the non-pecuniary costs of reporting requirements as unappealing. Further, the authors find entrepreneurs’ disproportionately discount higher margin opportunities when the regulatory burden is higher revealing the importance of policy factors in new product introduction decisions.

Practical implications

– Policy has traditionally focussed on the macro-level effects of initiatives and how they directly affect issues like economic growth. This study reveals that this is only part of the equation because changes in government policy impact entrepreneurs’ opportunity evaluation decisions that underpin macro trends. In order to be effective, policy makers need to pay greater attention to not only the economic, but also the non-pecuniary costs that policy changes evoke. This is especially true for those policies like reporting requirements that may be perceived as threats to entrepreneurs’ sense of autonomy.

Originality/value

– This research brings to the foreground the relationship between the policy environment and the cognitions and decision of individual entrepreneurs whose collective actions move the economy. The net effect is new insight regarding how policy factors coalesce to influence entrepreneurs’ assessments of opportunities, often in ways that negatively affect these assessments beyond what simple economic calculations would suggest.
Using developmental evaluation methods with communities of practice
Authors: van Winkelen Christine
Published: June 2016

Purpose

This paper aims to explore the use of developmental evaluation methods with community of practice programmes experiencing change or transition to better understand how to target support resources.

Design/methodology/approach

The practical use of a number of developmental evaluation methods was explored in three organizations over a nine-month period using an action research design. The research was a collaborative process involving all the company participants and the academic (the author) with the intention of developing the practices of the participants as well as contributing to scholarship.

Findings

The developmental evaluation activities achieved the objectives of the knowledge managers concerned: they developed a better understanding of the contribution and performance of their communities of practice, allowing support resources to be better targeted. Three methods (fundamental evaluative thinking, actual-ideal comparative method and focus on strengths and assets) were found to be useful. Cross-case analysis led to the proposition that developmental evaluation methods act as a structural mechanism that develops the discourse of the organization in ways that enhance the climate for learning, potentially helping develop a learning organization.

Practical implications

Developmental evaluation methods add to the options available to evaluate community of practice programmes. These supplement the commonly used activity indicators and impact story methods.

Originality/value

Developmental evaluation methods are often used in social change initiatives, informing public policy and funding decisions. The contribution here is to extend their use to organizational community of practice programmes.
The role of organizational learning culture and psychological empowerment in reducing turnover intention and enhancing citizenship behavior
Authors: Islam Talat , Khan Mubbsher Munawar , Bukhari Fida Hussain
Published: June 2016

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine the association among organizational learning culture (OLC), psychological empowerment (PE), affective commitment (AC), organizational citizenship behavior and turnover intention.

Design/methodology/approach

This study was undertaken via a questionnaire conducted among Malay-Chinese working in banking and insurance sector of Malaysia.

Findings

PE and OLC were found to influence employee’s citizenship behavior toward their organization and turnover intention. In addition, AC was found to perform the role of mediator between them.

Research Limitations/implications

The study used self-reported data based on a cross-sectional survey. The study has implications for the managers.

Practical Implications

OLC and PE were found to influence turnover intention directly and indirectly, providing an avenue of approach for managers to retain its key employees.

Originality/value

The paper examines the consequences of OLC and PE, neglected variables along with the mediation of AC.
Toward extending creative tourism: participatory experience tourism
Authors: de Bruin Anne , Jelinčić Daniela Angelina
Published: June 2016

Purpose

While the “creative turn” in everyday life has led to rapid development of creative tourism, not all forms of creative tourism use the same intensity of creative involvement. It is possible to distinguish between more passive and active involvement. In parallel, a “social turn” has led to popularity of forms of tourism, such as volunteer tourism, involving active participation. The purpose of this paper is to put forward ideas and present eclectic observations on active tourist participation around both the creative and social turns. Hence, it should be treated as a springboard and testing ground for these ideas and observations.

Design/methodology/approach

This study is based on theoretical conceptualisation with empirically derived supporting examples.

Findings

A new descriptor, “participatory experience tourism”, is advanced and argued to be preferable to reframing “creative tourism” to capture varied forms of experience involving active tourist participation. “Participatory experience tourism” is put forward as an extension of creative tourism and as an umbrella construct is further expanded upon to include notions of value addition.

Research limitations/implications

Structured empirical substantiation of the conceptual ideas in this paper is a future research need.

Originality/value

The paper provides an original theoretical construct to better account for forms of active tourist participation that have emerged from the creative and social turns that characterise contemporary society, and also heightens awareness of a key link in the experience value addition chain.
Travel companions and activity preferences of nature-based tourists
Authors: Chen Joseph S. , Wang Wei , Prebensen Nina K.
Published: June 2016

Purpose

This paper aims to reveal the similarities and variances in activity patterns among those traveling alone and with a different mix of travel companions in the context of nature-based tourism.

Design/methodology/approach

In this research, five different travel parties (alone, with small children, with older children, with friends and with partner) and 25 tourist activities are research variables. The study selects Norway as the destination country in relation to activity patterns. Its data, collected from a questionnaire survey of residents from the United Kingdom, Sweden and France, contain 6,935 responses.

Findings

The study finds that traveling with a partner is the preferred mix for traveling to Norway. A correspondence analysis on activity patterns reveals that traveling with friends and traveling with a partner show some similarities in activity patterns, where the other three groups prove notable differences in activity patterns compared to these two groups.

Originality/value

The study empirically tests the relationship between the mix of travel party and the choice of tourist activity in the context of nature-based tourism in Norway. It provides new market insights that can assist tourism businesses to further tailor products and services to traveling public involving different types of companions.
Factors affecting entrepreneurial opportunities recognition in tourism small and medium sized enterprises
Authors: Nikraftar Tayebeh , Hosseini Elahee
Published: June 2016

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine the antecedents of entrepreneurial opportunity recognition.

Design/methodology/approach

Questionnaire data were collected from 220 senior tourism business members in Iran.

Findings

The results show that an individual’s self-efficacy, prior knowledge and social networks, all had positive effects on entrepreneurial alertness. Also, entrepreneurial alertness contributed significantly to entrepreneurial opportunity recognition.

Research limitations/implications

The findings show that social network was the most important predictor among all other of the antecedents of entrepreneurial opportunity recognition. Because the data were limited to tourism industry, future studies need to validate these findings in other industries.

Practical Implications

Findings of this study suggest that to increase entrepreneurial opportunity recognition ability, it is critical for tourism businesses to invest in developing and enhancing individual ability.

Originality/value

The value of this paper lies in its contribution to understanding better the predictors to become entrepreneurs in tourism. Particularly, the paper adds to the existing literature by showing that the key success factors for entrepreneurial alertness are individual abilities, especially individual social contacts. People who want to work in the tourism industry should promote own communication network with other businesses and people to find new entrepreneurial opportunities. It is better they work in areas that have enough prior knowledge and experiences.
Creation of synthetic samples for physical modelling of natural shale
Authors: Luan Xinyuan , Di Bangrang , Wei Jianxin , Zhao Jianguo , Li Xiangyang
Published: June 2016

Natural shale samples, particularly well‐preserved, drilled core samples, are extremely difficult to obtain for laboratory research. Multiple tests must be carried out on one sample, and some samples are disposed after destructive tests. Therefore, rarity and non‐reusability of samples strongly restrict shale studies. In this study, based on statistical data from the world's major shale block, a new type of synthetic shale was physically constructed via a process of interfusion, stuffing, and compaction using quartz, clay, carbonate, and kerogen as the primary materials, according to statistical data from the world's major shale blocks. Further evaluation of the synthetic shale involved the use of scanning electron microscopy imagery and analysis of its anisotropic characteristics in comparison with natural shale. The synthetic shale had a laminated microstructure similar to natural shale, and its velocity anisotropy corresponded to Thomsen's anisotropy of a transversely isotropic medium. The results of tests for homogeneity and repeatability indicated that the construction process was stable and that several identical synthetic samples, which were satisfactorily similar to natural shale, could be produced for both iterative and destructive tests. The composition of each mineral, as well as the density, porosity, permeability, and anisotropy of the samples, were all variable. Therefore, a series of synthetic samples could be obtained with properties set to meet the requirements of petrophysical experimentation. Moreover, gas or oil saturation was also considered in the construction of the synthetic shale, meaning that the characteristics of gas or oil saturation (or the complete range of data from dry to saturated samples) could be tested using the synthetic shale.
External Debt and Taylor Rules in a Small Open Economy
Authors: Kitano Shigeto , Takaku Kenya
Published: June 2016

We develop a dynamic stochastic general equilibrium model of a small open economy in which both price rigidity and financial friction exist. We compare two cases featuring different interest rate rules. Both cases use the standard Taylor‐type interest rate rules, but the second case also considers external debt levels. We find that when friction in foreign borrowing is large, adding an external debt level to Taylor rules improves welfare. The welfare curve, however, exhibits a hump shape because excessive reactions to changes in external debt reduce welfare.
Methods for Measuring Racial Differences in Hospitals Outcomes Attributable to Disparities in Use of High‐Quality Hospital Care
Authors: Hebert Paul L. , Howell Elizabeth A. , Wong Edwin S. , Hernandez Susan E. , Rinne Seppo T. , Sulc Christine A. , Neely Emily L. , Liu Chuan‐Fen
Published: June 2016

Objective

To compare two approaches to measuring racial/ethnic disparities in the use of high‐quality hospitals.

Data Sources

Simulated data.

Study Design

Through simulations, we compared the “minority‐serving” approach of assessing differences in risk‐adjusted outcomes at minority‐serving and non‐minority‐serving hospitals with a “fixed‐effect” approach that estimated the reduction in adverse outcomes if the distribution of minority and white patients across hospitals was the same. We evaluated each method's ability to detect and measure a disparity in outcomes caused by minority patients receiving care at poor‐quality hospitals, which we label a “between‐hospital” disparity, and to reject it when the disparity in outcomes was caused by factors other than hospital quality.

Principal Findings

The minority‐serving and fixed‐effect approaches correctly identified between‐hospital disparities in quality when they existed and rejected them when racial differences in outcomes were caused by other disparities; however, the fixed‐effect approach has many advantages. It does not require an ad hoc definition of a minority‐serving hospital, and it estimated the magnitude of the disparity accurately, while the minority‐serving approach underestimated the disparity by 35–46 percent.

Conclusions

Researchers should consider using the fixed‐effect approach for measuring disparities in use of high‐quality hospital care by vulnerable populations.
What Explains Agricultural Price Movements?
Authors: Baffes John , Haniotis Tassos
Published: June 2016

After 2005, commodity prices experienced their longest and broadest boom since World War II. Agricultural prices have now come down considerably since their 2011 peak, but are still 40% higher in real terms than their 2000 lows. This paper briefly addresses the main arguments on the causes of the agricultural price cycle. It broadens the scope of analysis by focusing on six agricultural commodities, and identifies the relative weights of key quantifiable drivers of their prices. It concludes that increases in real income negatively affect real agricultural prices, consistent with the Prebisch–Singer hypothesis and its predecessor, Engel's Law. Energy prices matter most (not surprisingly, given the energy‐intensive nature of agriculture), followed by stock‐to‐use ratios and, to a lesser extent, ex‐change rate movements. The cost of capital affects prices only marginally, probably because it not only influences demand, but also evokes a supply response. The added value of these results lies in that, when examined in tandem and against market fundamentals, they challenge the conclusions from uni‐dimensional approaches that often put disproportionate weight on an individual factor.
Effects of Ultraviolet Light and High‐Pressure Processing on Quality and Health‐Related Constituents of Fresh Juice Products
Authors: Koutchma Tatiana , Popović Vladimir , Ros‐Polski Valquiria , Popielarz Anthony
Published: June 2016

Fresh juices are highly popular beverages in the global food market. They are perceived as wholesome, nutritious, all‐day beverages. For a fast growing category of premium juice products such as cold‐pressed juices, minimal‐processing nonthermal techniques such as ultraviolet (UV) light and high‐pressure processing (HPP) are expected to be used to extend shelf‐life while retaining physicochemical, nutritional, and sensory characteristics with reduced microbial loads. Also, UV light and HPP are approved by regulatory agencies and recognized as one of the simplest and very environmentally friendly ways to destroy pathogenic organisms. One of the limitations to their more extensive commercial application lies in the lack of comparative effects on nutritional and quality‐related compounds in juice products. This review provides a comparative analysis using 92 studies (UV light: 42, HPP: 50) mostly published between 2004 and 2015 to evaluate the effects of reported UV light and HPP processing conditions on the residual content or activity of bioactive compounds such as vitamins, polyphenols, antioxidants, and oxidative enzymes in 45 different fresh fruit and vegetable juices (low‐acid, acid, and high‐acid categories). Also, the effects of UV light and HPP on color and sensory characteristics of juices are summarized and discussed.
Validity of paediatric appendicitis score in Chinese population: A prospective study
Authors: Chung KLY , Wong SYS , Liu CSW , Tang PMY , Chao NSY , Liu KKW , Leung MMY
Published: June 2016

Aim

Paediatric appendicitis score (PAS) was described to improve the clinical diagnostic accuracy of paediatric appendicitis. The present study aimed to prospectively evaluate the validity of PAS in a Chinese population.

Patients and Methods

From 2011 to 2012, consecutive patients aged 4–18 years admitted with acute, right‐sided abdominal pain lasting less than 7 days were enrolled. PAS was calculated on admission by surgical residents, from eight components, with a maximum score of 10. Clinical outcomes were assessed prospectively, with follow up for those discharged without operation.

Results

Sixty‐four children were recruited. Twenty‐two patients (34.4 per cent) underwent appendectomy. Eight patients with PAS ≤2 were managed conservatively and discharged without additional radiological investigations. Twelve patients had PAS ≥7, of which 11(92 per cent) had an appendectomy performed; 10 were confirmed appendicitis on histology. One patient with PAS =7 was managed conservatively and discharged uneventfully. Of the 44 patients with PAS =3–6, 18 (36.4 per cent) underwent sonogram or computed tomography. Eleven patients (25 per cent) with PAS =3–6 had an operation performed, and all histology confirmed appendicitis. For the accuracy of PAS in diagnosing appendicitis, the area under the receiver‐operating characteristic curve was 0.883 (95 per cent confidence interval: 0.798, 0.968, P < 0.05). To diagnose appendicitis at cut‐off PAS ≥7, the sensitivity was 0.48, specificity was 0.95 and the positive predictive value was 0.83. The negative predictive value at cut‐off PAS ≤2 was 1.00. The overall negative appendectomy rate was 4.5 per cent.

Conclusion

The PAS is a simple diagnostic tool that only requires basic physical examination skills with objective laboratory results. It does not replace clinical judgments and decision for operation, but can assist in the decision‐making process, especially in the general clinic or emergency department, or for relatively inexperienced surgical residents. PAS ≥7 cut‐off has high validity for predicting appendicitis, and PAS ≤2 rules out appendicitis. Children with PAS =3–6 might warrant further evaluation with repeat clinical and/or radiological assessments.
Evaluating the Performance of a New Model for Predicting the Growth of Clostridium perfringens in Cooked, Uncured Meat and Poultry Products under Isothermal, Heating, and Dynamically Cooling Conditions
Authors: Huang Lihan
Published: June 2016

Clostridium perfringens type A is a significant public health threat and its spores may germinate, outgrow, and multiply during cooling of cooked meats. This study applies a new C. perfringens growth model in the USDA Integrated Pathogen Modeling Program‐Dynamic Prediction (IPMP Dynamic Prediction) Dynamic Prediction to predict the growth from spores of C. perfringens in cooked uncured meat and poultry products using isothermal, dynamic heating, and cooling data reported in the literature. The residual errors of predictions (observation–prediction) are analyzed, and the root‐mean‐square error (RMSE) calculated. For isothermal and heating profiles, each data point in growth curves is compared. The mean residual errors (MRE) of predictions range from –0.40 to 0.02 Log colony forming units (CFU)/g, with a RMSE of approximately 0.6 Log CFU/g. For cooling, the end point predictions are conservative in nature, with an MRE of –1.16 Log CFU/g for single‐rate cooling and –0.66 Log CFU/g for dual‐rate cooling. The RMSE is between 0.6 and 0.7 Log CFU/g. Compared with other models reported in the literature, this model makes more accurate and fail‐safe predictions. For cooling, the percentage for accurate and fail‐safe predictions is between 97.6% and 100%. Under criterion 1, the percentage of accurate predictions is 47.5% for single‐rate cooling and 66.7% for dual‐rate cooling, while the fail‐dangerous predictions are between 0% and 2.4%. This study demonstrates that IPMP Dynamic Prediction can be used by food processors and regulatory agencies as a tool to predict the growth of C. perfringens in uncured cooked meats and evaluate the safety of cooked or heat‐treated uncured meat and poultry products exposed to cooling deviations or to develop customized cooling schedules. This study also demonstrates the need for more accurate data collection during cooling.
Iodide Residues in Milk Vary between Iodine‐Based Teat Disinfectants
Authors: French Elizabeth A. , Mukai Motoko , Zurakowski Michael , Rauch Bradley , Gioia Gloria , Hillebrandt Joseph R. , Henderson Mark , Schukken Ynte H. , Hemling Thomas C.
Published: June 2016

Majority of iodine found in dairy milk comes from the diet and teat disinfection products used during milking process. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of 4 iodine‐based teat dips on milk iodide concentrations varying in iodine level (0.25% vs. 0.5%, w/w), normal low viscosity dip versus barrier dip, and application method (dip vs. spray) to ensure safe iodine levels in dairy milk when these products are used. The iodine exposure study was performed during a 2‐wk period. The trial farm was purged of all iodine‐based disinfection products for 21 d during a prestudy “washout period,” which resulted in baseline milk iodide range of 145 to 182 ppb. During the experiment, iodine‐based teat dips were used as post‐milking teat disinfectants and compared to a non‐iodine control disinfectant. Milk iodide residue levels for each treatment was evaluated from composited group samples. Introduction of different iodine‐based teat disinfectants increased iodide residue content in milk relative to the control by between 8 and 29 μg/L when averaged across the full trial period. However, residues levels for any treatment remained well below the consumable limit of 500 μg/L. The 0.5% iodine disinfectant increased milk iodide levels by 20 μg/L more compared to the 0.25% iodine. Compared to dip‐cup application, spray application significantly increased milk iodide residue by 21 μg/L and utilized approximately 23% more teat dip. This carefully controlled study demonstrated an increase in milk iodide concentrations from iodine disinfectants, but increases were small and within acceptable limits.
Effects of Hypobaric Treatments on the Quality, Bioactive Compounds, and Antioxidant Activity of Tomato
Authors: Kou Xiaohong , Wu Ji yun , Wang Yong , Chen Qiong , Xue Zhaohui , Bai Yang , Zhou Fengjuan
Published: June 2016

Hypobaric treatment is becoming a potential technology to protect fruits from postharvest decay. The objective of this study was to investigate the effects of hypobaric treatments on storage quality, bioactive compounds, and antioxidant activity of tomato fruit. In this study, green tomatoes (cv. “Fen guan”) were treated with hypobaric pressures (0.04 and 0.07 MPa) at ambient temperature (20 ℃) for 28 d. The results showed that under hypobaric storage, the respiration rates significantly declined and the respiratory peaks postponed 12 and 8 d by 0.04 and 0.07 MPa treatments, respectively, compared to control. Total soluble solid, titratable acidity, ascorbic acid, and lycopene were retained by hypobaric treatment. Moreover, ascorbic acid contents treated with 0.04 and 0.07 MPa were, respectively, 37% and 26% higher than control at day 24 and the contents of total polyphenols were, respectively, 1.28 and 1.11 times higher than control. Production and accumulation of toxic substances were significantly restrained. The ethanol content decreased, respectively, by 53% and 84% than control. At later storage period, the superoxide dismutase activity in treated fruits was about 0.58 U/(g·FW·min), whereas only 0.29 U/(g·FW·min) in control. Hypobaric treatment not only maintained a high activity of superoxide dismutase and peroxidase (POD), but also improved antioxidant capacity. All the results indicated that hypobaric treatment was a potential helpful method to protect the quality and nutrition of tomato and prolong ripening of tomato. Furthermore, the effect of 0.04 MPa hypobaric treatment was found better than 0.07 MPa.
Improving distribution data of threatened species by combining acoustic monitoring and occupancy modelling
Authors: Campos‐Cerqueira Marconi , Aide T. Mitchell
Published: June 2016

Conservation of threatened species relies on predictions about their spatial distribution; however, it is often difficult to detect species in the wild. The combination of acoustic monitoring to improve species detectability and statistical methods to account for false‐negative detections can improve species distribution estimates.

Here, we combine a novel automated species‐specific identification approach with occupancy models that account for imperfect detectability to provide a more accurate species distribution map of the Elfin Woods Warbler Setophaga angelae, a rare, elusive and threatened bird species. We also compared three automated species identification/validation approaches to determine which approach provided occupancy estimates similar to manual validation of all recordings. Acoustic data were collected along three elevational gradients (95–1074 m a.s.l) in El Yunque National Forest, Puerto Rico. The detection matrices acquired through automated species‐specific identification models and manual validations of all recordings were used to create occupancy models.

Although this species has a wider distribution than previously reported, it depends on Palo Colorado forest cover and it mainly occurs between 600 and 900 m a.s.l. Unbiased and precise occupancy models were developed by using automated species identification models and only manually validating 4% of the recordings.

Our approach draws on the strength of two active areas of ecological research: acoustic monitoring and occupancy modelling. Our methods provide an effective and efficient way to translate the enormous amount of acoustic information collected with passive acoustic monitoring devices into meaningful ecological data that can be applied to understand and map the distribution of rare, elusive and threatened species.
Effects of erythropoietin on memory‐relevant neurocircuitry activity and recall in mood disorders
Authors: Miskowiak K. W. , Macoveanu J. , Vinberg M. , Assentoft E. , Randers L. , Harmer C. J. , Ehrenreich H. , Paulson O. B. , Knudsen G. M. , Siebner H. R. , Kessing L. V.
Published: June 2016

Objective

Erythropoietin (EPO) improves verbal memory and reverses subfield hippocampal volume loss across depression and bipolar disorder (BD). This study aimed to investigate with functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) whether these effects were accompanied by functional changes in memory‐relevant neuro‐circuits in this cohort.

Method

Eighty‐four patients with treatment‐resistant unipolar depression who were moderately depressed or BD in remission were randomized to eight weekly EPO (40 000 IU) or saline infusions in a double‐blind, parallel‐group design. Participants underwent whole‐brain fMRI at 3T, mood ratings, and blood tests at baseline and week 14. During fMRI, participants performed a picture encoding task followed by postscan recall.

Results

Sixty‐two patients had complete data (EPO: N = 32, saline: N = 30). EPO improved picture recall and increased encoding‐related activity in dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (dlPFC) and temporo‐parietal regions, but not in hippocampus. Recall correlated with activity in the identified dlPFC and temporo‐parietal regions at baseline, and change in recall correlated with activity change in these regions from baseline to follow‐up across the entire cohort. The effects of EPO were not correlated with change in mood, red blood cells, blood pressure, or medication.

Conclusion

The findings highlight enhanced encoding‐related dlPFC and temporo‐parietal activity as key neuronal underpinnings of EPO‐associated memory improvement.
The impact of the 2005–2010 rice price increase on consumption in rural Bangladesh
Authors: Hasan Syed Abul
Published: June 2016

This article studies the impact of the rice price increase between 2005 and 2010 on consumption in rural Bangladesh. Using the Household Income and Expenditure Survey (HIES) data, we compare net rice buyers and sellers to self‐sufficient households. To identify the effect of rice price changes on household consumption of rice, nonrice food and nonfood items, we employ a difference‐in‐differences (DiD) technique. Our findings indicate that the surge in domestic rice prices between 2005 and 2010 reduced the nonrice food consumption of net rice buyer households by 7%, compared to the households who are self‐sufficient in rice production. However, it did neither affect their rice nor their nonfood consumption. In contrast, while we find no significant effect of rice price increases on the rice consumption of net rice sellers, we observe a 9% increase in their nonrice food consumption. In such situation, a subsidy on low‐quality rice may be effective in fulfilling the nutritional requirement of low‐income households.
Differential hypoxic response of human choroidal and retinal endothelial cells proposes tissue heterogeneity of ocular angiogenesis
Authors: Mammadzada Parviz , Gudmundsson Johann , Kvanta Anders , André Helder
Published: June 2016

Purpose

To elaborate molecular differences between choroidal and retinal angiogenesis by generating and comparatively analysing human primary choroidal and retinal endothelial cell (CEC and REC) lines.

Methods

Human CEC and REC were isolated by positive selection and were cultured. Characterization was performed by immunostaining for endothelial cell (EC)‐specific markers. Total RNA and protein were extracted from normoxic or hypoxic CEC and REC cultures. Quantitative polymerase chain reaction (PCR) arrays were used to comparatively analyse 133 genes between CEC and REC, and the expression differences were calculated by ΔΔCt method. A total of 57 angiogenesis‐related protein expression differences were investigated by Western blot and proteome profiler and were calculated by densitometry.

Results

Primary human CEC and REC lines stained positively for all EC markers and demonstrated high purity with similar staining and morphology. Under normoxia, CEC showed significantly lower expression levels for cell proliferation and vessel maturation genes and higher expression levels for inflammation‐related genes when compared to REC. In response to hypoxia, CEC and REC displayed differential regulation for a multitude of angiogenesis‐related genes and proteins. Furthermore, within the vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) family, CEC showed preferential upregulation for vascular endothelial growth factor A (VEGFA) while REC upregulated placenta growth factor (PlGF) levels.

Conclusion

Differential normoxic and hypoxic regulation of angiogenesis‐related factors by CEC and REC outlines tissue heterogeneity of ocular angiogenesis and suggests that tissue specificity should be considered as a novel treatment modality for successfully overcoming choroidal and retinal angiogenic conditions in the clinic.