bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Enhanced resistive memory in Nb-doped BaTiO3 ferroelectric diodes
Authors: Jin Qiao , Zheng Chunyan , Zhang Yongcheng , Lu Chaojing , Dai Jiyan , Wen Zheng
Published: July 2017

In this study, we report on enhanced resistive memory in BaTiO3-based ferroelectric diodes due to the doping of donors. A large ON/OFF current ratio of ∼2000, about two orders of magnitude higher than that of Au/BaTiO3/SrRuO3, is achieved in a Au/Nb:BaTiO3/SrRuO3 diode at room temperature. This can be ascribed to the enhanced ferroelectric-modulation on the potential barrier at the Nb:BaTiO3/SrRuO3 interface associated with the (NbTi4+5+)· donors, which gives rise to an efficient control of device transport between a bulk-limited current in the ON state and an interface-limited Schottky emission in the OFF state. In contrast, the resistance switching is suppressed in a Au/Fe:BaTiO3/SrRuO3 device since the (FeTi4+3+)′ acceptors suppress semiconducting character of the BaTiO3 thin film and make the polarization-modulation of the band diagram negligible. The present work facilitates the design of high-performance resistive memory devices based on ferroelectric diodes with controllable charged defects.
The influence of covering a germanium nanowire with a single wall carbon nanotube on mechanical properties: A molecular dynamics study
Authors: Abdollahi M. , Davoodi J.
Published: July 2017

Semiconductor nanowires are potential candidates for applications in quantum information processing, Josephson junctions, and field-effect transistors. Therefore, this study focused on the effects of covering a germanium nanowire (GeNW) with a single wall carbon nanotube (CNT) on the stress-strain diagram, failure points, and Young's modulus using molecular dynamics simulations. To describe the interactions between atoms in the system, we used Tersoff potential. Also, a Nose-Hoover thermostat was employed to control temperature of the system. The stress-strain curves of GeNW and GeNW inside CNT (CNT-GeNW) were obtained at various temperatures, radii, and strain velocities. It was found that coverage of GeNW with CNT led to 2–6 fold improved Young's modulus. It was also determined that a significant part of the Young's modulus in CNT-GeNW is due to the presence of CNT. Moreover, we defined the behavior of Young's modulus of GeNW as well as CNT-GeNW in the [100], [110], and [111] crystallography direction and found that Young's modulus decreased with increasing temperature. In addition, by increasing strain velocity, Young's modulus decreased for GeNW but increased for CNT-GeNW. Finally, we observed that when a GeNW is covered by a CNT, its failure point increased as compared with GeNW.
Molecular beam epitaxy of Nd2PdO4 thin films
Authors: Nanao Yoshiko , Ikeda Ai , Naito Michio , Yamamoto Hideki , Kumakura Kazuhide , Krockenberger Yoshiharu
Published: July 2017

We synthesized high quality, single crystalline thin films of a layered, complex 4d transition metal oxide (Nd2PdO4) by reactive molecular beam epitaxy, in order to determine the electronic structures associated with square-planar coordinated palladium ions. The single crystalline thin films of Nd2PdO4 show resistivity values of 100 mΩcm at 300 K and this value is independent of annealing procedures.
Note: A four-pass acousto-optic modulator system for laser cooling of sodium atoms
Authors: Lu Bo , Wang Dajun
Published: July 2017

We present a four-pass acousto-optic modulator (AOM) system for providing the repumping light for laser cooling of sodium atoms. With only one 400 MHz AOM, we achieve a tunable laser frequency shift around 1.6 GHz with total efficiency up to 30%. This setup provides an alternative over conventional methods to generate a sodium repumping light using more expensive high frequency AOMs or electro-optical modulators (EOMs) in the GHz domain. This compact and reliable setup can be easily adapted to other frequencies and may find applications in laser spectroscopy, laser cooling and trapping, and coherent manipulation of atomic quantum states.
Non-stationarity of low flows and their relevance to river modelling during drought periods
Authors: Rassam David W. , Pagendam Daniel , Gilfedder Mat , Zhang Lu
Published: July 2017

Changes in groundwater storage lead to a reduction in groundwater contribution to river flow and present as non-stationarity, especially during low-flow conditions. Conventional river models typically ignore this non-stationarity, and, hence, their predictions of declines in low flows during drought periods are likely to be compromised. The present study assesses non-stationarity and highlights its implications for river modelling. A quantile regression analysis showed non-stationarity of low flows in the Namoi catchment (Australia), with statistically significant downward trends in the 10th percentile of log-transformed baseflow (10-LTB). This highlighted the usefulness of the 10-LTB metric to identify non-stationarity and, hence, alert modellers to the importance of adopting models that explicitly account for groundwater processes when modelling such river systems.
Trainees’ Knowledge, Attitudes, and Practices Towards Caring for the Substance-Exposed Mother-Infant Dyad
Authors: Schiff Davida M. , Zuckerman Barry , Wachman Elisha M. , Bair-Merritt Megan
Published: July 2017

Background

As rates of substance use disorder during pregnancy rise, pediatric trainees are increasingly caring for infants with neonatal abstinence syndrome (NAS). This study evaluated the knowledge, attitudes, and practices of trainees caring for substance-exposed newborns and their families, comparing differences by level and type of training, and personal experience with addiction or trauma.

Methods

A cross-sectional survey of medical students and pediatric, medicine/pediatric, and family medicine residents in 2015–2106. Measures included knowledge about NAS, attitudes towards mothers who use drugs, and practices around discussing addiction and trauma with families. Descriptive and bivariate analyses were conducted.

Results

The overall response rate was 70%, with 229 trainees included in the final sample (99 students, 130 residents). Fifty percent of trainees endorsed personal experience with addiction, 50% with trauma, and 35% with both addiction and trauma. Increasing years of pediatric training was associated with greater comfort in managing symptoms of NAS but decreased comfort discussing addiction and trauma. Family medicine and medicine/pediatric residents were more comfortable discussing addiction and trauma than categorical pediatric residents ( P < .01). Twenty-two percent of trainees felt confident that mothers would disclose illicit drug use, 39% felt that they would actively care for their infants with NAS, and 43% felt that mothers would not make unreasonable demands. Personal experience with addiction or trauma did not significantly impact trainees’ attitudes towards women with substance use disorder.

Conclusions

Trainees may benefit from educational interventions focused on developing a 2-generational model of trauma-informed care to improve attitudes and ultimately the care of substance-exposed infants and their families.
Analytical Solution for Peristaltic Transport of Viscous Nanofluid in an Asymmetric Channel with Full Slip and Convective Conditions
Authors: Ebaid Abdelhalim , Aly Emad H. , Vajravelu K.
Published: July 2017

The peristaltic flow of nanofluids is a relatively new area of research. Scientists are of the opinion that the no-slip conditions at the boundaries are no longer valid and consequently, the first and the second order slip conditions should be addressed. In this paper, the effects of slip conditions and the convective boundary conditions at the boundary walls on the peristaltic flow of a viscous nanofluid are investigated for. Also, the exact analytical solutions are obtained for the model. The obtained results are presented through graphs and discussed. The results reveal that the two slip parameters have strong effects on the temperature and the nanoparticles volume fraction profiles. Moreover, it has been seen that the temperature and nanoparticles volume fraction profiles attain certain values when the first slip condition exceeds a specified value. However, no limit value for the second slip parameter has been detected. Further, the effects of the various emerging parameters on the flow and heat transfer characteristics have been presented.
Costs and Benefits of Land Fragmentation: Evidence from Rwanda
Authors: Ali Daniel Ayalew , Deininger Klaus , Ronchi Loraine
Published: July 2017

Panel data from Rwanda allow us to explore costs and benefits from land fragmentation in a non-mechanized setting using two methodological improvements, namely (i) a terrain-adjusted measure of travel time/cost required to visit all parcels to measure fragmentation; and (ii) instrumental variable (IV) approaches that use measures for inherited/allocated parcels and past displacement as instruments. Results suggest that fragmentation as measured by travel cost negatively affect yield, intensity of labor use, and technical efficiency while reducing yield variability. With some 7 percent increase in yields, the size of the estimated impact of potential consolidation remains modest, suggesting that in an unmechanized setting such as the one studied here, the costs of programs to reduce fragmentation may outweigh the benefits.
A long and abundant non-coding RNA in Lactobacillus salivarius
Authors: Cousin Fabien J. , Lynch Denise B. , Chuat Victoria , Bourin Maxence J. B. , Casey Pat G. , Dalmasso Marion , Harris Hugh M. B. , McCann Angela , O’Toole Paul W.
Published: July 2017

Lactobacillus salivarius, found in the intestinal microbiota of humans and animals, is studied as an example of the sub-dominant intestinal commensals that may impart benefits upon their host. Strains typically harbour at least one megaplasmid that encodes functions contributing to contingency metabolism and environmental adaptation. RNA sequencing (RNA-seq) transcriptomic analysis of L. salivarius strain UCC118 identified the presence of a novel unusually abundant long non-coding RNA (lncRNA) encoded by the megaplasmid, and which represented more than 75 % of the total RNA-seq reads after depletion of rRNA species. The expression level of this 520 nt lncRNA in L. salivarius UCC118 exceeded that of the 16S rRNA, it accumulated during growth, was very stable over time and was also expressed during intestinal transit in a mouse. This lncRNA sequence is specific to the L. salivarius species; however, among 45 L. salivarius genomes analysed, not all (only 34) harboured the sequence for the lncRNA. This lncRNA was produced in 27 tested L. salivarius strains, but at strain-specific expression levels. High-level lncRNA expression correlated with high megaplasmid copy number. Transcriptome analysis of a deletion mutant lacking this lncRNA identified altered expression levels of genes in a number of pathways, but a definitive function of this new lncRNA was not identified. This lncRNA presents distinctive and unique properties, and suggests potential basic and applied scientific developments of this phenomenon.
Complexity-Entropy maps as a tool for the characterization of the clinical electrophysiological evolution of patients under pharmacological treatmentwith psychotropic drugs
Authors: Diaz J. M. , Mateos D. M. , Boyallian C.
Published: July 2017

In the clinical electrophisiologic practice, the reading and comparing electroencephalographic (EEG) recordings some times is insufficient and take to much time. That is why in the last years it has begun to introduce new methods of EEG analysis, that give a better and faster understanding of the EEG dynamics and allow a rapid intervention in the patient’s treatment. Tools coming from the information theory or nonlinear system as an entropy and complexity have been shown to be a very good alternative to address this problem. In this work we introduce a novel method -the permutation Lempel-ziv complexity vs permutation entropy map. This method was applied to EEG of two patients with specific diagnosed pathologies during respective follow up processes of pharmacological changes in order to detect changes that are not evident with the usual inspection method. Our results show that the proposed method are useful for observing an evolutionary retrospective clinical effects of pharmacological interventions in both patients, and from these, to follow the clinical response to the proposed treatment.
Conformational changes in Arp2/3 complex induced by ATP, WASp-VCA and actin filaments
Authors: Espinoza-Sanchez Sofia , Metskas Lauren Ann , Chou Steven Z. , Rhoades Elizabeth , Pollard Thomas D.
Published: July 2017

We used fluorescence spectroscopy and electron microscopy to determine how binding of ATP, nucleation-promoting factors (NPF), actin monomers and actin filaments change the conformation of Arp2/3 complex during the process that nucleates an actin filament branch. We mutated subunits ofSchizosaccharomyces pombeArp2/3 complex for labeling with fluorescent dyes at either the C-termini of Arp2 and Arp3 or ArpC1 and ArpC3. We measured Förster resonance energy transfer (FRET) efficiency (ETeff) between the dyes in the presence of the various ligands. We also computed class averages from electron micrographs of negatively stained specimens. ATP binding made small conformational changes of the nucleotide binding clefts of the Arp subunits. WASp-VCA, WASp-CA, and WASp-actin-VCA changed the ETeffbetween the dyes on the Arp2 and Arp3 subunits much more than between dyes on ArpC1 and ArpC3. Ensemble FRET detected a different structural change that involves bringing ArpC1 and ArpC3 closer together when Arp2/3 complex bound actin filaments. Each of the ligands that activates Arp2/3 complex changes the structure in different ways, each leading progressively to fully activated Arp2/3 complex on the side of a filament.
Meeting halfway
Authors: Drummond Pamella , Araujo Fernando , Borges Renata
Published: July 2017

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the large case of enterprise resource planning (ERP) system implementation in Latin America, performed between 2011 and 2015 in a Brazilian, multinational, publicly traded company. Using the organizational change literature as background, this research analyzes the barriers and factors of success by comparing the perspectives of ERP implementers and end-users, identifying success factors and barriers of this project. A conceptual framework is developed.

Design/methodology/approach

The case study method was used to conduct an in-depth analysis of the interviews that captured the complexity of this process. The change management project team had exactly 11 implementers, of whom ten were interviewed, and 45 end-users, of whom 20 were interviewed.

Findings

The results suggest that end-users and implementers have opposite perceptions regarding the role of previous experience, organizational processes, capacity for change, leadership behavior, and the interaction of business units. In general, implementers presented a more critical perception of the change processes. Conversely, implementers and end-users agreed that business needs and cultural values facilitated the ERP implementation, whereas organizational structure and geographic dispersion constrain it.

Research limitations/implications

This research could have analyzed the results by region or by production line.

Originality/value

The major contribution of this research is to offer a conceptual framework to analyze different views about the same project. This study deepens the understanding of ERP implementations by adding studies from other countries and different cultures. For practitioners, this case study aims to offer the experiences and perceptions that implementers and end-users had about the largest ERP implementation system in Latin America.
Value co-creation in maintenance services: case study in the mechanical industry
Authors: Braun Eduardo Luiz , Pereira Giancarlo Medeiros , Sellitto Miguel Afonso , Borchardt Miriam
Published: July 2017

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to analyze a contract-based relationship for value co-creation and gain-sharing between two companies for the purpose of industrial maintenance services. After five years of good results for both parties, the relationship was terminated, thus raising questions regarding on the actual gains shared by both partners from joint actions.

Design/methodology/approach

The research method is the longitudinal case study. The research question is: why would a contractual relationship of co-creation of value be terminated given the fact that it yielded good financial results for both parts over the course of five years? The main research techniques were structured interviews with relevant actors and documental analysis from both parts involved in the contract.

Findings

Even valuable contracts can be terminated if the external scenario changes significantly: it matters very little the good job done together if the result became poor due to external reasons, as buyer’s sales drop in the period. In the inner scenario, mistruth can arise if the buyer maintains parallel structures for performing similar tasks to those of the service provider, showing some kind of independence from the supplier.

Research limitations/implications

The main limitation is that inherent to case studies: the lack of generalization.

Practical implications

When companies decide to contract regular long-term maintenance services, preventions to revenue reductions of the main activity the must be present, for the continuity of the contract.

Originality/value

To the date of this research, no similar study was found, regarding the influence of the external results in the internal relationships in co-creation value contracts.
Designing more just social futures or remixing the radical present?
Authors: Wargo Jon M.
Published: July 2017

Purpose

Plugging into the multimodal aesthetics of youth lifestreaming, this article examines how three lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and/or queer (LGBTQ) youths use digital media production as an activist practice toward cultural justice work. Focusing on the queer rhetorical dimensions of multimodal (counter)storytelling, the communicative practice used to (re)name, remix and challenge epistemic notions of objective reality, this paper aims to highlight how youth worked to (de)compose and (re)author multiple identities and social relationships across online/offline contexts.

Design/methodology/approach

Through sustained participant observation across online/offline contexts, active interviewing techniques and visual discourse analysis, this paper illuminates how composing with digital media was leveraged by three LGBTQ youths to navigate larger systems of inequality across a multi-year connective ethnographic study.

Findings

By highlighting how queer rhetorical arts were used as tools to surpass and navigate social fault lines created by difference, findings highlight how Jack, Andi and Gabe, three LGBTQ youths, used multimodal (counter)storytelling to comment, correct and composebeingdifferent. Speaking across the rhetorical dimensions of logos, pathos and ethos, the author contends that a queer rhetorics lens helped highlight how youth used the affordances of multimodal (counter)storytelling to lifestream versions of activist selves.

Originality/value

Reading LGBTQ youths’ lifestreaming as multimodal (counter)storytelling, this paper highlights how three youths use multimodal composition as entry points into remixing the radical present and participate in cultural justice work.
Leadership styles and organizational learning in UK for-profit and non-profit sports organizations
Authors: Megheirkouni Majd
Published: July 2017

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to investigate the transformational and transactional leadership styles and organizational learning at for-profit and non-profit sports organizations, and the impact of these leadership styles on enhancing organizational learning in these sports organizations.

Design/methodology/approach

A quantitative questionnaire survey method was adopted. The data were collected from for-profit and non-profit sports organizations in the UK.

Findings

Management by exception-active in transactional leadership and idealized leadership in transformational leadership seem to be equally important for facilitating organizational learning. The results also revealed significant differences between for-profit and non-profit sports organizations in leadership styles and organizational learning.

Research limitations/implications

The generalizability of the results for different sports settings or different countries must be examined, given that only some sports organizations under the umbrellas of non-profit and for-profit sectors were used as the target population. The research is limited to the use of moderating variables, such as motivation, organizational structure, culture and innovation, that might attenuate this effect. This study contributes to the field by investigating the direct relationship between leadership styles and organizational learning in a sports setting.

Originality/value

The originality of this study is its advances of sports leadership research that is linking leadership styles and organizational learning in for-profit and non-profit sports organizations.
Effects of supportive work environment on employee retention
Authors: Kundu Subhash C. , Lata Kusum
Published: July 2017

Purpose

The purpose of the present study is to investigate the mediating effect of organizational engagement in the relationship between supportive work environment (SWE) and employee retention.

Design/methodology/approach

Primary data of 211 respondents from 67 organizations were analysed. Confirmatory factor analysis was used to assess the dimensionality and validity of study variables. Further, the hypothesized model was tested with the help of multiple regression analysis.

Findings

The findings suggest that SWE plays a crucial role in predicting employee retention. Organizational engagement partially mediates the relationship between SWE and employee retention.

Research limitations/implications

The data were limited to the Indian setting and of cross-sectional design only; so, it may not be generalized across the world. Further, the sample size is also comparatively smaller but the results are not affected adversely.

Originality/value

The role of SWE along with organizational engagement is currently under-researched in the Indian context. The present study is an intense effort to analyse the mediating effect of organizational engagement in the relationship between SWE and employee retention.
The role of travel experience and gender on travel information source selection
Authors: Yasin Bahar , Baghirov Fakhri , Zhang Ye
Published: July 2017

Purpose

This paper aims to identify the most popular travel information sources used among tourists and investigates how travel information selection differs across travel experience and gender.

Design/methodology/approach

This study used convenient and quota sampling strategy, questionnaires were distributed to 270 respondents at Sultanahmet and Grand Bazaar areas. A screening question was used to classify respondents.

Findings

First, past travel experience, travel agent, travel websites and hotel websites are generally the most frequently used travel information sources in destination selection due to conveniences and reliability. Second, first-timers prefer to use external information sources such as Facebook, guidebooks, travel agents and newspapers to gather information about destinations, whereas repeat visitors prefer to use internal information sources such as friends’ suggestions and past travel experience. Lastly, female visitors rely more on internal information sources such as friends’ suggestions and past travel experience. However, males prefer to use external information sources like Facebook, television, blog, travel agents, newspaper and guidebooks in choosing Turkey as a destination.

Research limitations/implications

Because factors studied, travel information sources selected, number of respondents and questionnaire distribution area are limited, future studies can expand to a bigger area so more respondents could get more reliable results.

Practical implications

This paper could help tourism industries understand searching behaviours among different types of tourists better to promote businesses in convenient sources and reach target customers easily.

Originality/value

This paper fulfils an identified need to study how travel information searching behaviours differ among tourists.
Interest rate convergence, sovereign credit risk and the European debt crisis: a survey
Authors: Gruppe Mario , Basse Tobias , Friedrich Meik , Lange Carsten
Published: July 2017

Purpose

This paper aims to briefly review the literature on interest rate convergence and the European debt crisis with a special focus on the current fiscal problems of some governments in Europe.

Design/methodology/approach

Relevant empirical papers are identified and reviewed focusing on time series analysis techniques.

Findings

The introduction of the euro has caused interest rate convergence among European Monetary Union (EMU) government bond yields. However, now sovereign credit risk and possibly even redenomination risk have caused divergences in European bond markets.

Research limitations/implications

A major limitation is that a relatively new field of the literature is surveyed. However, there are enough papers of relevance. This review paper could therefore be helpful in finding new approaches for additional empirical research examining the EMU bond market.

Originality/value

The results of empirical studies in a relatively new field of the literature are summarized. There meanwhile are some relevant papers. A brief survey of the results of these papers is provided. Important empirical findings with regard to interest rate convergence, sovereign credit risk and redenomination risk in the EMU are discussed and evaluated. The review is especially helpful for researchers and practitioners in the field of managerial finance and risk managers in the financial services industry.
Wetland entrepreneurs: diversity in diversification in Zambian farming
Authors: McElwee Gerard , Wood Adrian
Published: July 2017

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to explore enterprise diversification amongst wetland farmers in Zambia as a way of reducing poverty and improving sustainability. This paper identifies ways in which such entrepreneurial activities can be supported and applied more widely.

Design/methodology/approach

A qualitative study of Zambian farmers, based on a series of workshops and interviews held in Zambia with farmers and farm business advisers.

Findings

Despite adopting new technologies most farmers are restricted to the local market where their increased production holds down prices. However, a very small number of farmers are able to progress to production and marketing for markets in major urban centres hundreds of kilometres away, and considerably more are able to use the capital accumulated from wetland farming to diversify their household enterprises to reduce poverty and improve the sustainability and resilience of their livelihoods.

Originality/value

No work has previously been undertaken in diversification strategies of small-scale farmers in Zambia.
Routinizing peak performance and impacts via virtuous cycles
Authors: Edgeman Rick
Published: July 2017

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to improve the ability of enterprises to routinely realize peak performance and produce positive social and environmental impact.

Design/methodology/approach

An acknowledged operational excellence model – the one behind the globally recognized Shingo Prize for Operational Excellence – is examined in relation to positive reciprocal behavior and the value of creating and reinforcing processes that “pile good upon good” in form of virtuous improvement cycles.

Findings

Embedding virtuous reciprocity cycles in enterprise culture and routines can help to routinize peak performance.

Research limitations/implications

Only the Shingo Operational Excellence Model is examined so that other well-known alternatives such as the Malcolm Baldrige Performance Excellence Model and EFQM Excellence Model are not examined. That said, the general structure and content of most excellence models is sufficiently similar that the approach taken herein would likely yield analogous conclusions.

Practical implications

Inherent in “practices” is that enterprises seek to routinize successful approaches to performance and impact, usually via contextualized implementation of excellence models or “programs” such as lean enterprise.

Social implications

Offered is one means of creating more positive enterprise cultures. Enterprises with more positive cultures have been shown to also be more productive and to contribute more positively to the fabric of society so that the “piling of good upon good” can extend beyond the borders of the enterprise.

Originality/value

The contribution herein is one of demonstrating why and how virtuous cycles can be implemented to more routinely yield improved or peak performance.
Expanding the concept of shared decision making for mental health: systematic search and scoping review of interventions
Authors: Zisman-Ilani Yaara , Barnett Erin , Harik Juliette , Pavlo Anthony , O’Connell Maria
Published: July 2017

Purpose

Much of the existing literature on shared decision making (SDM) in mental health has focused on the use of decision aids (DAs). However, DAs tend to focus on information exchange and neglect other essential elements to SDM in mental health. The purpose of this paper is to expand the review of SDM interventions in mental health by identifying important components, in addition to information exchange, that may contribute to the SDM process in mental health.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors conducted a systematic literature search using the Ovid-Medline database with supplementary scoping search of the literature on SDM in mental health treatment. To be eligible for inclusion, studies needed to describe (in a conceptual work or development paper) or evaluate (in any type of research design) a SDM intervention in mental health. The authors included studies of participants with a mental illness facing a mental health care decision, their caregivers, and providers.

Findings

A final sample of 31 records was systematically selected. Most interventions were developed and/or piloted in the USA for adults in community psychiatric settings. Although information exchange was a central component of the identified studies, important additional elements were: eliciting patient preferences and values, providing patient communication skills training, eliciting shared care planning, facilitating patient motivation, and eliciting patient participation in goal setting.

Originality/value

The review indicates that additional elements, other than information exchange such as sufficient rapport and trusting relationships, are important and needed as part of SDM in mental health. Future SDM interventions in mental health could consider including techniques that aim to increase patient involvement in activities such as goal settings, values, and preference clarification, or facilitating patient motivation, before and after presenting treatment options.
Institutional quality and agglomeration of fast food multinationals in Latin American cities
Authors: Robles Fernando
Published: July 2017

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to explore the location decision of multinationals across major cities in Latin America. Based on agglomeration economics and institutional theory, the paper explores whether institutional quality of a city can temper the attraction of agglomeration factors.

Design/method/approach

The paper analyzes the geographic dispersion of three global fast-food franchise networks in 45 Latin American cities. The explanatory variables are horizontal aggregation of other multinationals and the institutional quality of a city. The direct and indirect impacts of horizontal agglomeration are explored through negative binomial regression with controls for city population and economic power [gross domestic product (GDP)].

Findings

The key finding is that location choice of fast-food networks is driven principally by market conditions and to a lesser extent by horizontal agglomeration. The institutional quality of a city has a positive influence on the agglomeration of fast-food networks. A city with strong institutional quality makes this relation stronger.

Research limitations

Other multinational and national fast-food franchises are not included in the paper. Future studies should include a greater number of global and local fast-food franchisers.

Practical implications

The positive reinforcements of agglomeration and strong institution are important for the investment location decision of fast-food multinationals. The institutional quality of the city should be an important consideration in the location decision as it expands regionally and within a country. Smaller cities may not offer the agglomeration advantages of the large metropolitan areas, but their good institutional quality may reduce the business costs for multinationals.

Social implications

Large cities in Latin America tend to reap the benefits of agglomeration. As a result, smaller secondary cities struggle to be relevant in generating economic activity and attracting private investments. One strategy to achieve relevance is to build strong and transparent institutions and a solid business environment.

Originality/value

The inclusion of institutional quality at the city level as moderation of the agglomeration factors influencing the location decision of a multinational is original. This paper contributes to our understanding of the importance of regional cities in attracting the investment of multinational firms.
Tofacitinib for the treatment of moderate to severe chronic plaque psoriasis in Japanese patients: Subgroup analyses from a randomized, placebo‐controlled phase 3 trial
Authors: Abe Masatoshi , Nishigori Chikako , Torii Hideshi , Ihn Hironobu , Ito Kei , Nagaoka Makoto , Isogawa Naoki , Kawaguchi Isao , Tomochika Yukiko , Kobayashi Mihoko , Tallman Anna M. , Papp Kim A.
Published: July 2017

Tofacitinib is an oral Janus kinase inhibitor. These post‐hoc analyses assessed tofacitinib efficacy and safety in Japanese patients with psoriasis enrolled in a 52‐week global phase 3 study. Patients received tofacitinib 5 mg, tofacitinib 10 mg or placebo twice daily (b.i.d.); placebo‐treated patients advanced to tofacitinib at week 16. Primary efficacy end‐points were the proportions of patients with 75% or more reduction from baseline Psoriasis Area and Severity Index (PASI‐75) and Physician's Global Assessment (PGA) of “clear” or “almost clear” (PGA response) at week 16. Other end‐points included: Itch Severity Item (ISI), Dermatology Life Quality Index (DLQI) score and Nail Psoriasis Severity Index (NAPSI). Adverse events (AEs) were recorded throughout the study. Overall, 58 Japanese patients were included in this analysis (tofacitinib 5 mg b.i.d., n = 22; 10 mg b.i.d., n = 24; placebo, n = 12); 29 completed the study. At week 16, significantly more patients receiving tofacitinib 5 and 10 mg b.i.d. versus placebo achieved PASI‐75 (50% and 75% vs 0%, P < 0.01) and PGA response (59% and 75% vs 0%, P < 0.001). Substantial improvements in ISI, DLQI and NAPSI score were observed with both tofacitinib doses. Over 52 weeks, similar rates of AEs were reported across treatment groups; one serious AE occurred with tofacitinib 10 mg b.i.d. Herpes zoster occurred in three patients receiving tofacitinib 10 mg b.i.d. No deaths, serious infections, malignancies or gastrointestinal perforations were reported. Results were generally consistent with global analysis, suggesting sustained efficacy and a manageable safety profile, with increased herpes zoster incidence, of tofacitinib in Japanese patients with psoriasis.
Synthetic multispecies microbial communities reveals shifts in secondary metabolism and facilitates cryptic natural product discovery
Authors: Shi Yutong , Pan Chengqian , Wang Kuiwu , Chen Xuegang , Wu Xiaodan , Chen Chen‐Tung Arthur , Wu Bin
Published: July 2017

Chemically mediated interactions have been hypothesized to be essential for ecosystem functioning as co‐occurring organisms can influence the performance of each other by metabolic means. Here, we present a co‐culture device that allows co‐culturing of microorganisms that are physically separated but can exchange chemical signals and metabolites. This setup was adopted to perform investigations on the secondary metabolisms of both a fungal–bacterial community and an actinomycetic–actinomycetic community. This study employed a metabolomics approach integrating LC‐MS profiling, multivariate data analysis and molecular networking techniques. LC‐MS measurements revealed a pronounced influence of such chemical communication on the metabolic profiles of synthetic co‐culture communities with a group of molecules being induced or upregulated in co‐cultures. A novel antibiotic exhibiting antibiotic properties against Klebsiella pneumoniae was unveiled in the fungal–bacterial community. Besides, a further survey of the fungal–bacterial cross‐talk indicated that the production of co‐culture‐induced diphenyl ethers by fungi might result from the fungal response against the secretion of surfactins by bacteria in the cross‐talk. This study demonstrated that the presented co‐culture device and the metabolomic routine would facilitate the investigation on chemically mediated interactions in nature as well as cryptic natural products discovery.
The lapsed and the laity: discipline and lenience in the study of religion
Authors: Mayblin Maya
Published: July 2017

This article cautions against an ‘earnest turn’ within the anthropology of religion, pointing up the tendency for anthropologists of religion to over‐emphasize the role of discipline in the construction of the religious subjecthood over mechanisms of leniency and compromise. Taking the Catholic Church as an example, I show how discipline and lenience have been co‐constitutive of Christian subjectivities, as different movements in a gigantic choreography which have spanned and evolved over several centuries. By looking at certain technologies of lenience that have emerged over the course of Catholic history, I trace an alternative genealogy of ‘the Christian self’; one in which institutional growth, power, and survival depended not only upon the formation of disciplined bodies and interior dispositions but also upon a carefully managed division of labour between clergy and laity, as well as upon a battery of legal commutations and practical avoidances aimed at minimizing the effort and pain of the ascetic approach. Taking the concept of ‘lapsedness’ as cue, I ask to what extent the ‘lapsed Catholic’, rather than indexing an ever‐increasing tendency towards secularism, might already be contained and accounted for within Catholicism as a living, evolving form.
Changes in the physicochemical, microstructural and rheological properties of traditional Kope cheese during ripening
Authors: Hasanzadeh Asieh , Raftani Amiri Zeynab , Aminifar Mehrnaz
Published: July 2017

The effect of ripening time on the microstructural, physicochemical and rheological characteristics of traditional Kope cheese ripened in clay pots was investigated. The moisture content, pH and total nitrogen (TN)/dry matter (DM) of the cheese decreased, and DM, fat in DM and water‐soluble nitrogen/TN increased during this period. Storage and loss moduli increased, while loss tangent decreased; as a result, the elasticity characteristics were greater than the viscous characteristics of the samples. Microstructure images showed that the size of pores and casein network density increased significantly during ripening and, after 90 days, the structure of many pores became very similar to each other.
Bacteremia Prediction Model for Community‐acquired Pneumonia: External Validation in a Multicenter Retrospective Cohort
Authors: Kim Byunghyun , Choi Jungho , Kim Kyuseok , Jang Sujin , Shin Tae Gun , Kim Won Young , Kim Jung‐Youn , Park Yoo Seok , Kim Soo Hyun , Lee Hui Jai , Shin Jonghwan , You Je Sung , Kim Kyung Su , Chung Sung Phil
Published: July 2017

Objective

Many studies have described constructing a prediction model for bacteremia in community‐acquired pneumonia (CAP), but these studies were not validated in external heterogeneous groups. The objective of this study was to test the generalizability of a previous bacteremia prediction model for CAP by external validation.

Methods

This multicenter retrospective cohort analysis was performed in eight tertiary urban hospital emergency departments (EDs). We reviewed adult patients who were hospitalized after presentation to the ED with CAP. We categorized the enrolled patients into three groups according to the bacteremia prediction model score and calculated the number of patients with or without a blood culture–positive result. We performed a multivariable analysis to identify significant predictors for bacteremia.

Results

Among the enrolled 2,001 patients, 1,592 (79.6%), 371 (18.5%), and 38 (1.9%) were stratified to a low‐, moderate‐, and high‐risk group, respectively, and this proportion was similar with previous study. Each group had a bacteremia‐positive rate as follows: 1.2% for the low‐risk group, 7.2% for the moderate‐risk group, and 31.5% for the high‐risk group. The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve for the bacteremia model in the external validation cohort was 0.81, and there was no significant difference with that of the previous internal validation cohort (p = 0.246). Assuming that blood cultures were not performed in the low‐risk patients, the sensitivity and specificity of this model were 0.68 and 0.81, respectively. Additionally, the positive predictive value and negative predictive value were 9.54 and 98.87%, respectively. A platelet count less than 130 × 109 cells/L, albumin less than 3.3 mg/dL, and C‐reactive protein greater than 17 mg/dL were identified as significant predictors with a sensitivity and specificity of 0.70 and 0.83, respectively.

Conclusion

The bacteremia prediction model was well validated in the general population and could help physicians make the decision to reduce the number of blood cultures in patients with CAP.
The effects of climate change on a mega‐diverse country: predicted shifts in mammalian species richness and turnover in continental Ecuador
Authors: Iturralde‐Pólit Paula , Dangles Olivier , Burneo Santiago F. , Meynard Christine N.
Published: July 2017

Ecuador has some of the greatest biodiversity in the world, sheltering global biodiversity hotspots in lowland and mountain regions. Climate change will likely have a major effect on these regions, but the consequences for faunal diversity and conservation remain unclear. To address this issue, we used an ensemble of eight species distribution models to predict future shifts and identify areas of high changes in species richness and species turnover for 201 mammals. We projected the distributions using two different climate change scenarios at the 2050 horizon and contrasted two extreme dispersal scenarios (no dispersal vs. full dispersal). Our results showed extended distributional shifts all over the country. For most groups, our results predicted that the current diversity of mammals in Ecuador would decrease significantly under all climate change scenarios and dispersal assumptions. The Northern Andes and the Amazonian region would remain diversity hotspots but with a significant decrease in the number of species. All predictions, including the most conservative scenarios in terms of dispersal and climate change, predicted major changes in the distribution of mammalian species diversity in Ecuador. Primates might be the most severely affected because they would have fewer suitable areas, compared with other mammals. Our work emphasizes the need for sound conservation strategies in Ecuador to mitigate the effects of climate change
Curved microstructures promote osteogenesis of mesenchymal stem cells via the RhoA/ROCK pathway
Authors: Zhang Qi , Lin Shiyu , Zhang Tao , Tian Taoran , Ma Quanquan , Xie Xueping , Xue Changyue , Lin Yunfeng , Zhu Bofeng , Cai Xiaoxiao
Published: July 2017

Objectives

Cells in the osteon reside in a curved space, accordingly, the curvature of the microenvironment is an important geometric feature in bone formation. However, it is not clear how curved microstructures affect cellular behaviour in bone tissue.

Materials and methods

Rat primary bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (BMSCs) on wavy microgrooves were exposed to PDMS substrates with various curvatures to investigate alterations in cellular morphology and osteogenic differentiation. Additionally, the expression levels of RhoA and its effectors were examined by immunofluorescence and quantitative PCR to determine the mechanisms of curvature‐dependent osteogenic differentiation.

Results

Wavy microgrooves caused dramatic nuclear distortion and cytoskeletal remodelling. We detected a noticeable increase in the expression of osteogenic‐related genes in BMSCs in wavy microgroove groups, and the maximum expression was observed in the high curvature group. Moreover, immunofluorescent staining and quantitative RT‐PCR results for RhoA and its effectors showed that the RhoA/ROCK signalling pathway is associated with curvature‐dependent osteogenic differentiation.

Conclusions

Our results illustrated that curved microstructures could promote BMSC differentiation to the osteogenic lineage, and the osteogenic effects of higher curvature are more obvious. Wavy microstructures could also influence the RhoA/ROCK pathway. Accordingly, curved microstructures may be useful in bone tissue engineering.
Walnut consumption increases activation of the insula to highly desirable food cues: A randomized, double‐blind, placebo‐controlled, cross‐over fMRI study
Authors: Farr Olivia M. , Tuccinardi Dario , Upadhyay Jagriti , Oussaada Sabrina M. , Mantzoros Christos S.
Published: July 2017

Aims

The use of walnuts is recommended for obesity and type 2 diabetes, although the mechanisms through which walnuts may improve appetite control and/or glycaemic control remain largely unknown.

Materials and Methods

To determine whether short‐term walnut consumption could alter the neural control of appetite using functional magnetic resonance imaging, we performed a randomized, placebo‐controlled, double‐blind, cross‐over trial of 10 patients who received, while living in the controlled environment of a clinical research center, either walnuts or placebo (using a validated smoothie delivery system) for 5 days each, separated by a wash‐out period of 1 month.

Results

Walnut consumption decreased feelings of hunger and appetite, assessed using visual analog scales, and increased activation of the right insula to highly desirable food cues.

Conclusions

These findings suggest that walnut consumption may increase salience and cognitive control processing of highly desirable food cues, leading to the beneficial metabolic effects observed.