bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Income structure, diversification strategy and owners’ benefit in cooperative financial institutions
Authors: Cuong Hoang Van , Ngoc Luu Hiep , Quynh Thi Nguyen Loan , Chu Vu Tuan
Published: May 2020

Purpose

The purposes of this paper are twofold. First, it analyses the income structure in cooperative financial institutions and examines how traditional and non-traditional incomes are related. Second, it evaluates whether increasing diversification towards non-traditional incomes facilitates or hampers the benefits of financial cooperative owners.

Design/methodology/approach

Data are collected from over 3,100 US credit unions over the period of 1994–2016. A number of modern econometric techniques are employed throughout the analysis, including the use of panel fixed effect, generalised method of moments (GMM) and two-stage least square (2SLS) methodologies.

Findings

Using US credit unions as the empirical setting, the empirical results reveal that the expansion of traditional income leads to a corresponding increase in income from non-traditional activities. However, an increasing reliance on non-traditional income causes a significant drop in interest margins. The authors also find that the extent to which income diversification affects owner benefit varies across credit union types and period of time. While income diversification negatively affects owners' benefits in single common bond credit unions, it has no significant influence on multiple common bond and community credit union owners' benefits. Third, diversification can be beneficial during crisis time, but can be detrimental to owner benefit during normal time.

Originality/value

This paper provides some of the first empirical investigations on the diversification strategy of cooperative financial institutions. Therefore, the results offer significant policy implications for policymakers and market participants on whether financial cooperatives should diversify or specialise.
Fatigue damage assessment of reinforced concrete beam using average frequency and rise angle value of acoustic emission signal
Authors: Md Nor Noorsuhada , Mat Saliah Soffian Noor , Hashim Khairul Afinawati
Published: May 2020

Purpose

In civil engineering construction, the reinforced concrete (RC) structure is generally used and exposed to fatigue loading as it is in service. The assessment of the RC structure is required to maintain the service life of the structure.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper presents the behaviour of RC beam specimens under increasing maximum fatigue loading until failure. Simultaneously the acoustic emission (AE) was recorded. Twelve phases of maximum fatigue loading at Stage 1 and Stage 2 were applied to the beam with the frequency of 1 Hz and 5,000 load cycles were applied for each load phase. Two AE parameters were analysed and discussed, namely average frequency and rise angle value at CH4 and CH5.

Findings

The results found that the load and crack are closely related to the AE activities in the RC beam specimen when subjected to increasing fatigue loading.

Originality/value

To investigate the AE characteristics of RC beam specimens subjected to 12 phases of maximum fatigue loading using the average frequency and rise angle value.
Explaining the complexity relationship of CSR and financial performance using neo-institutional theory
Authors: P Golrida Karyawati , Subroto Bambang , T Sutrisno , Saraswati Erwin
Published: May 2020

Purpose

This study aims to prove the complexity of the relationship between CSR and financial performance (FP) and to decompose the complexity of the relationship using neo-institutional theory.

Design/methodology/approach

This research employs a meta-analysis that integrates 55 various contexts studied between 1998 and 2017 using correlation coefficient as the effect size.

Findings

This study proves that the nature of the relationship between CSR and FP is complex and suggests that the analysis of the relationship between the two variables includes institutional factors to produce generalizable conclusions. Country characteristics, forms and dimensions of CSR, CSR measurements and FP measurements explain the complexity of the relationship between CSR and FP.

Research limitations/implications

Future research is expected to include industry characteristics and the corporate governance model in the analysis of the relationship between CSR and FP. Differences in industry characteristics affect the selection of CSR forms and dimensions, bringing it the potential to influence the relationship between CSR and FP. The corporate governance model adopted by developing countries and developed countries also has the potential to be an institutional factor to influence the relationship between CSR and FP.

Originality/value

This research proves that the complexity of the relationship between CSR and FP is nature given. This research explores the factors causing the complexity of the relationship using neo-institutional theory, which, to the author's knowledge, has not been done by other researchers.
The familiar stranger of mental health
Authors: Long Matthew Sydney
Published: May 2020

Purpose

This paper aims to contribute to the debate about the closure of institutional mental health-care facilities, from an experiential perspective of a former mental health inpatient, ongoing service user and campaigner for retention of such facilities. It argues that auto-ethnographic accounts of mental illness by those with multiple social identities can have a greater role in terms of future training of mental health-care professionals.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper offers an experiential account of the impact of mental health facility bed closures as a patient admitted to institutional mental health facilities; as a mental health campaigner, fighting for the provision of both places of safety and “safe space” within his own local community; and as an ongoing service user. The research is in the interpretivist tradition of social science in taking an auto-ethnographical methodological stance.

Findings

This paper is underpinned by two key theoretical notions. Firstly, Stuart Hall’s concept of the Familiar Stranger (2017) is used to explore the tensions of self-identity as the author SHIFTS uncomfortably between his three-fold statuses. Secondly, the notion of “ontological insecurity” offered by Giddens (1991) is used with the paper exploring the paradox that admission to a mental health facility so-called “place of safety” is in fact itself a disorientating experience for both patient and carer(s).

Research limitations/implications

No positivistic claims to reliability, representativeness or generalisability can be made. It is the authenticity of the account which the reader feels should be afforded primacy in terms of its original contribution to knowledge.

Practical implications

This paper should have practical use for those tasked with developing educational and training curriculums for professionals across the mental health-care sector.

Social implications

This paper implicitly assesses the political wisdom of the policy of mental health bed closures within the wider context of the deinstitutionalisation movement.

Originality/value

This paper is underpinned by original experiential accounts from the author as patient, campaigner for places of safety and onging service-user of mental health care provision.
Strategies for preventing illicit financial flows in developing countries
Authors: Umar Bello , Abu Martins Mustapha , Mohammed Zayyanu
Published: May 2020

Purpose

This paper aims to critically review the strategies for prevention of illicit financial flows to and from developing countries with a view of ascertaining the most effective strategies to be selected and implemented by developing countries to stem the scourge.

Design/methodology/approach

The peer-reviewed journal articles were studied; those that discussed illicit financial flows were selected and reviewed critically using the systematic quantitative assessment techniques together with an output table.

Findings

The critical review deduced that enacting effective trade laws, trade regulations, creating a beneficial ownership registry, multinational companies disclosing information on business, automatic exchange of information on tax issues, the Financial Action Task Force 40 guidelines on anti-money laundering and countering financing of terrorism and domestic and international cooperation are the most reliable strategies that should be implemented by developing countries.

Research limitations/implications

The wide geographic scope of developing countries, use of only high-quality databases that restricted the use of other articles and use of public sector perspective are the limitations for this paper.

Originality/value

This study is amongst the limited works to discuss the most reliable and effective strategies to prevent illicit financial flows in developing countries.
Leadership humility and managing a multicultural workforce
Authors: Hutt Camille , Gopalakrishnan Shanthi
Published: May 2020

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to understand how CEO Joseph Abraham of Commercial Bank, Qatar, has shaped the culture of the bank and driven increased success during his tenure there. This is one of a series of interview-based studies that are focused on South Asian CEOs, with the goal of better understanding their management style in a multinational context. This short paper explores how leadership style can impact the development of workplace culture among a multinational workforce to build a collaborative, innovative and high-performing organization.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper uses primary interviews and supplements the analyses with secondary data sources and published research on leadership, organizational identity, culture and organizational ambidexterity.

Findings

The study found that cultural values and learned behaviors impact one's leadership and vision. In this instance, the CEO's leadership style demonstrated humility, an appreciation of diverse national cultures, and an ability to create organizational identity and cultivate a culture of ambidexterity, providing comfort to the organization in dynamically opposite contexts. All of these leadership features have enabled the organization to become more adaptive and perform better.

Originality/value

The narrative provides a glimpse of leadership humility and the implementation of those ideals in the workplace. The global experience of this South Asia-raised CEO provides an insider's view to decision-making and helps us understand how family, cultural background, and diverse work experience shape leadership behavior and culture in a multinational context.
Spatial genet dynamics of a dwarf bamboo: Clonal expansion into shaded forest understory contributes to regeneration after an episodic die‐off
Authors: Tomimatsu Hiroshi , Matsuo Ayumi , Kaneko Yuichiro , Kudo Eri , Taniguchi Ryotaro , Saitoh Tomoyuki , Suyama Yoshihisa , Makita Akifumi
Published: May 2020

The ability of clonal plants to spread horizontally and to share resources within genets has long been considered advantageous in spatially heterogeneous environments, yet our understanding of how such traits relate to its widespread success and dominance is still limited. Using a dwarf bamboo, Sasa kurilensis, that often dominates cool‐temperate forest understorys, we investigated how population recovery over 20 years after an episodic die‐off may be augmented by clonal expansion via rhizomes. Previous analyses on genet demography using 9‐m2 plots showed that more productive genets were more likely to survive, spread laterally, and replace less productive ones. In this study, we examined whether the recovery of biomass in lower light microsites, where biomass recovery was initially slower, was supported by the spread of productive genets at larger scales, from surrounding higher‐light microsites. We found that the biomass recovery in lower‐light plots was more supported by genets that spread clonally into the plots. Such genets that spread from outside plots produced larger culms than those that had originally germinated there. Whereas genets that contributed much to the biomass of the low‐light plots spread extensively from higher‐light microsites, the spatial extent of genets that originally germinated in these plots was quite limited, so that the patterns of clonal expansion appeared to be unidirectional along the light gradient. Our findings suggest that clonal expansion of productive genets from higher‐light into shaded microsites may be important for S. kurilensis to proliferate across heterogeneous light environments.
Direct and non‐linear innovation effects of demographic shifts
Authors: Suzuki Kohei , Ha Hyesong , Avellaneda Claudia N.
Published: May 2020

A varied set of pressures drive organizational innovation. Among these pressures, demographic shifts seem to boost innovation, as the public sector responds to the arrival of migrants and to community changes in race and ethnic composition. However, we know little about innovation by governments in response to expected population decline. In particular, studies have under‐examined how anticipated demographic pressures prompt public organizations to innovate. This study undertakes this task by arguing that innovation is more visible in municipalities facing greater anticipated demographic decline. However, we also argue for a non‐linear relationship in which too strong and/or too weak expected demographic declines lead to less visible innovation (inverted U‐shape effect). These propositions were tested with a data set of Japanese municipalities and employing a dose–response model. Findings show that anticipated demographic declines directly boost innovation visibility. However, too strong and/or too weak unexpected demographic declines make innovation less visible.
Noninvasive prenatal diagnosis for pregnancies at risk for β‐thalassaemia: a retrospective study
Authors: Lv W , Linpeng S , Li Z , Liang D , Jia Z , Meng D , Cram DS , Zhu H , Teng Y , Yin A , Wu L
Published: May 2020

Objective

To evaluate the clinical feasibility of noninvasive prenatal diagnosis (NIPD) for β‐thalassaemia using circulating single molecule amplification and re‐sequencing technology (cSMART).

Design

Through carrier screening, 102 pregnant Chinese couples carrying pathogenic HBB gene variants were recruited to the study. Pregnancies were managed using traditional invasive prenatal diagnosis (IPD). Retrospectively, we evaluated the archived pregnancy plasma DNA by NIPD to evaluate the performance of our cSMART assay for fetal genotyping.

Setting

Chinese prenatal diagnostic centres specialising in thalassaemia testing.

Population

Chinese carrier couples at high genetic risk for β‐thalassaemia.

Methods

Fetal cell sampling was performed by amniocentesis and HBB genotypes were determined by reverse dot blot. NIPD was performed by a newly designed HBB cSMART assay and fetal genotypes were called by measuring the allelic ratios in the maternal cell‐free DNA.

Main outcome measures

Concordance of HBB fetal genotyping between IPD and NIPD and the sensitivity and specificity of NIPD.

Results

Invasive prenatal diagnosis identified 29 affected homozygotes or compound heterozygotes, 54 heterozygotes and 19 normal homozygotes. Compared with IPD results, 99 of 102 fetuses (97%) were correctly genotyped by our NIPD assay. Two of three discordant samples were false positives and the other sample involved an incorrect call of a heterozygote carrier as a homozygote normal. Overall, the sensitivity and specificity of our NIPD assay was 100% (95% CI 88.06–100.00%) and 97.26% (95% CI 90.45–99.67%), respectively.

Conclusions

This study demonstrates that our cSMART‐based NIPD assay for β‐thalassaemia has potential clinical utility as an alternative to IPD for pregnant HBB carrier couples.

Tweetable abstract

A new noninvasive test for pregnancies at risk for β‐thalassaemia.
Mining maize diversity and improving its nutritional aspects within agro‐food systems
Authors: Palacios‐Rojas Natalia , McCulley Laura , Kaeppler Mikayla , Titcomb Tyler J. , Gunaratna Nilupa S. , Lopez‐Ridaura Santiago , Tanumihardjo Sherry A.
Published: May 2020

Agro‐food systems are undergoing rapid innovation in the world and the system's continuum is promoted at different scales with one of the main outcomes to improve nutrition of consumers. Consumer knowledge through educational outreach is important to food and nutrition security and consumer demands guide breeding efforts. Maize is an important part of food systems. It is a staple food and together with rice and wheat, they provide 60% of the world's caloric intake. In addition to being a major contributor to global food and nutrition security, maize forms an important part of the culinary culture in many areas of Africa, the Americas, and Asia. Maize genetics are being exploited to improve human nutrition with the ultimate outcome of improving overall health. By impacting the health of maize consumers, market opportunities will be opened for maize producers with unique genotypes. Although maize is a great source of macronutrients, it is also a source of many micronutrients and phytochemicals purported to confer health benefits. The process of biofortification through traditional plant breeding has increased the protein, provitamin A carotenoid, and zinc contents of maize. The objective of this paper is to review the innovations developed and promoted to improve the nutritional profiles of maize and outcomes of the maize agro‐food system.
The Novel Coronavirus – Latest Findings
Authors: Brüssow Harald
Published: May 2020

What was initially a lung infection epidemic in the metropolitan area of Wuhan followed by a now contained extension to mainland China has now spread to all continents as a major pandemic with current hotspots in Europe and the USA. This minireview is an update of an earlier report on this novel coronavirus infection (Brüssow, 2020, Microb Biotech 13, 607). I am now summarizing the research literature published between end of February to mid‐April 2020.
Unemployment from stable, downsized and closed workplaces and alcohol‐related mortality
Authors: Junna Liina , Moustgaard Heta , Martikainen Pekka
Published: May 2020

Aims

To assess the importance of health selection in the association between unemployment and alcohol‐related mortality by comparing mortalities of those unemployed from workplaces experiencing different levels of downsizing. The more severe the downsizing, the less dependent unemployment would be on personal characteristics and the weaker the role of health selection.

Design

We estimated hazards models of unemployment on alcohol‐related diseases and poisonings and external causes with alcohol as a contributing cause over follow‐ups of 0–5, 6–10 and 11–20 years and at different levels of downsizing (stable, downsized or closed).

Setting

Finland, 1990 to 2009.

Participants

A register‐based random sample of employees aged 25–63 in privately owned workplaces (n = 275 738).

Measurements

The outcome was alcohol‐related death and the exposure was unemployment. We adjusted for age, sex, year, education, marital status, health status, workplace tenure, industry, region and unemployment rate.

Findings

Alcohol‐disease mortality was elevated among the unemployed throughout the follow‐up, regardless of the level of downsizing. At 11–20 years after baseline, those unemployed from stable workplaces had a 2.46 hazard ratio (HR) (95% confidence interval [CI] = 2.14–2.82), those from downsized workplaces 1.94 (95% CI = 1.64–2.30) and those from closed workplaces 2.13 (95% CI = 1.75–2.59), when compared with the controls. Alcohol‐related external‐cause mortality at 0–5 years follow‐up was only associated with unemployment from stable workplaces (HR = 1.39, 95% CI = 1.22–1.58), but over time, an association emerged among those unemployed following downsizing and closure. At 11–20‐year follow‐up, the HR following downsizing was 1.83 (CI 95% = 1.37–2.45) and 1.54 (95% CI = 1.03–2.28) following closure.

Conclusions

There is some indication that alcohol‐related ill‐health may lead to unemployment in Finland. However, the persistent long‐term association between unemployment and alcohol‐related mortality even after workplace closure may imply a causal relation.
Screening for preeclampsia in low‐risk twin pregnancies at early gestation
Authors: Chen Jianping , Zhao Depeng , Liu Yang , Zhou Jia , Zou Gang , Zhang Yun , Guo Ming , Duan Tao , Van Mieghem Tim , Sun Luming
Published: May 2020

Introduction

Preeclampsia affects about 10% of twin pregnancies and significantly increases the risk of adverse pregnancy outcomes. However, screening models for preeclampsia in twin pregnancies remain elusive. The present study aimed to evaluate the performance of a multi‐marker first trimester preeclampsia screening model in low‐risk twin pregnancies.

Material and methods

Between 2014 and 2017, we prospectively assessed first trimester biomarkers for preeclampsia in a ‘low‐risk‘ twin pregnancy cohort at a single center. Multiple logistic regression was used to determine significant predictors for early preeclampsia (occurring prior to 34 weeks) and late preeclampsia (occurring after 34 weeks). The performance of the screening models fitted using the significant predictors was calculated using receiver operating characteristics curves, and internal validation was performed using bootstrapping.

Results

A total of 769 twin pregnancies were included in the study. Early preeclampsia and late preeclampsia developed in 27 (3.5%) and 59 (7.7%) cases, respectively. Logistic regression analyses showed that maternal age, body mass index, mean artery pressure and placental growth factor were significant predictors for early preeclampsia. Maternal age, body mass index, mean artery pressure and pregnancy‐associated plasma protein A were significant for late preeclampsia. Uterine artery pulsatility index was not predictive of either early or late preeclampsia. For the fitted screening model of early and late preeclampsia, the areas under receiver operating characteristics curves were 0.82 (95% confidence interval [CI] 0.76‐0.88) and 0.66 (95% CI 0.59‐0.73), which were expected to decrease to 0.77 and 0.60, respectively, based on bootstrapping; the positive predictive values were 10.2% and 12.5%; and the estimated detection rates were 40.7% and 22.0%, respectively, at a false‐positive rate of 10%.

Conclusions

A multi‐marker screening model for preeclampsia in low‐risk twin pregnancies, using a modified version of Fetal Medicine Foundation predictors in singletons, does not perform well. Uterine artery pulsatility index is of little value in screening for preeclampsia in low‐risk twin pregnancies.
Majority group belonging without minority group distancing? Minority experiences of intergroup contact and inequality
Authors: Kende Judit , Baysu Gülseli , Van Laar Colette , Phalet Karen
Published: May 2020

As most immigrant‐origin minority youth grow up in ethnically diverse social worlds, they develop a sense of belonging to both the national majority and the ethnic minority group. Our study adds to a growing body of research on minority experiences of intergroup contact by (1) including both minority and majority group belonging as outcomes and (2) examining the interplay of majority contact with unequal treatment. We surveyed 1,200 Turkish and Moroccan‐Belgian minority youth in 315 classrooms across 65 schools, using multiple measures of intergroup contact, unequal treatment in school, and minority and majority group belonging. Multi‐level models showed that minority youth who experienced more intergroup contact, and less unequal treatment, reported more belonging to the majority group. In addition, contact predicted less belonging to the minority group only in the presence of unequal treatment: For minority youth who perceived less unequal treatment, either individually or collectively, intergroup contact was unrelated to minority group belonging. We conclude that majority group contact and belonging need not come at the cost of minority group distancing in the absence of inequality.
The hyperpolarization‐activated cyclic nucleotide‐gated 4 channel as a potential anti‐seizure drug target
Authors: Kharouf Qays , Phillips A. Marie , Bleakley Lauren E. , Morrisroe Emma , Oyrer Julia , Jia Linghan , Ludwig Andreas , Jin Liang , Nicolazzo Joseph A. , Cerbai Elisabetta , Romanelli M. Novella , Petrou Steven , Reid Christopher A.
Published: May 2020

Background and Purpose

Hyperpolarization‐activated cyclic nucleotide‐gated (HCN) channels are encoded by four genes (HCN1–4) with distinct biophysical properties and functions within the brain. HCN4 channels activate slowly at robust hyperpolarizing potentials, making them more likely to be engaged during hyperexcitable neuronal network activity seen during seizures. HCN4 channels are also highly expressed in thalamic nuclei, a brain region implicated in seizure generalization. Here, we assessed the utility of targeting the HCN4 channel as an anti‐seizure strategy using pharmacological and genetic approaches.

Experimental Approach

The impact of reducing HCN4 channel function on seizure susceptibility and neuronal network excitability was studied using an HCN4 channel preferring blocker (EC18) and a conditional brain specific HCN4 knockout mouse model.

Key Results

EC18 (10 mg·kg−1) and brain‐specific HCN4 channel knockout reduced seizure susceptibility and proconvulsant‐mediated cortical spiking recorded using electrocorticography, with minimal effects on other mouse behaviours. EC18 (10 μM) decreased neuronal network bursting in mouse cortical cultures. Importantly, EC18 was not protective against proconvulsant‐mediated seizures in the conditional HCN4 channel knockout mouse and did not reduce bursting behaviour in AAV‐HCN4 shRNA infected mouse cortical cultures.

Conclusions and Implications

These data suggest the HCN4 channel as a potential pharmacologically relevant target for anti‐seizure drugs that is likely to have a low side‐effect liability in the CNS.
Prioritizing management strategies to achieve multiple outcomes in a globally significant Indonesian protected area
Authors: Utami Ni Wayan Febriana , Wirawan I Gede Putu , Firn Jennifer , Kepakisan Agus Ngurah Krisna , Kusdyana I Putu Gede Arya , Nicol Sam , Carwardine Josie
Published: May 2020

The multiple values delivered by protected areas around the world are threatened and in decline. We propose a structured decision science prioritization approach for justifying and guiding increased investments in protected area management to improve outcomes for a suite of important values. Using Bali's only national park, Taman Nasional Bali Barat (TNBB) as a case study, we draw from existing park documentation and 80 participating experts in TNBB's ecology, society and management to define goals that describe a successful outcome for nine core values of the park: threatened species, ecosystem function, ecosystem habitats, scientific research, food and health, spiritual values, traditional fishing, community prosperity, and ecotourism. Participants estimated that without increased investment, the extent of goal achievement is likely to be below 30% for all values at the end of the 15‐year planning time frame. However, implementing nine strategies, at an increased annual investment of 5.5 billion Indonesian rupiah (US$385,666) per year, would achieve the goals for all values. The most cost‐effective strategies were predicted to be collaboration and planning, monitoring and managing invasive species, followed by establishing and using a research and management fund, adapting to climate change, managing illegal resource use, waste and human impacts, as well as improving the captive breeding program for the iconic and critically endangered bird, curik Bali. Our approach may be useful for systematically comparing costed sets of management investments in other conservation areas worldwide.
Trajectory of performance: The role of selection criteria on student achievement in a Bachelor of Oral Health programme
Authors: Gardner Suzanne , Liu Pingzhou , Roberts‐Thomson Kaye
Published: May 2020

Background

To determine whether discontinuing the Undergraduate Medicine and Health Sciences Admissions Test (UMAT) in 2011 for selection and changes to the South Australian Certificate of Education (SACE) requirements in 2012 when the new Australian Tertiary Admissions Rank (ATAR) was introduced impacted on students' accumulative level of achievement and performance in the Bachelor of Oral Health (BOH) programme.

Methods

Board of Examiner's course results for end of year performance were collected for BOH cohorts from 2006 to 2017 (n = 347). Overall performance and achievement level attained were calculated and formed the dependent variables, Performance and Achievement. Group‐based trajectory modelling (GBTM) characterised trajectories of yearly academic achievement and the likelihood of each case belonging to the latent group classified as individual group membership. Chi‐square (or Fischer's exact) tests were conducted on groups and selected independent variables, using SAS 9.4.

Results

A 2‐group academic Performance trajectory was selected as Consistent (n = 290; 83.6%) and Inconsistent (n = 57; 16.4%), and Achievement level (credit number) trajectory as Low (n = 154; 44.4%) and High (n = 193; 55.6%). Statistically significant findings in relation to achievement level were found; female students, those who enrolled after UMAT was discontinued, students enrolled since SACE changes, and those who nominated BOH as their first career preference, were more likely to achieve higher grades than their counterparts.

Conclusion

Discontinuing the UMAT for selection and SACE changes have shown no adverse changes in students' level of achievement in the BOH programme, although enrolling in a course not their first preference was shown to affect performance level.
Protean Diversity: A Complex Adaptive Systems Perspective on Individuals within Organizations
Authors: Karolidis Dimitrios , Vouzas Fotis , Kafetsios Konstantinos , Bellou Victoria
Published: May 2020

As organizations are becoming more diverse in terms of the sociological and psychological characteristics of their workforces, diversity emerges as an important issue in contemporary work settings. As a result, workforce diversity research has evolved significantly over the last decades. However, today there is still a consensus that the variegated contemporary organizational settings require scholars and practitioners alike to develop a more nuanced understanding of diverse employees. In this vein, this conceptual paper examines workplace diversity through a complex adaptive systems (CAS) perspective. We introduce the concept of protean diversity as an application of CAS to diversity research in order to explain how individuals act on their differences through the manifestation of personal and interpersonal dynamics. Our work contributes to organizational theory and practice by offering new ways to identify both research methods and managing techniques that scholars and practitioners may apply to study and manage diverse individuals as CAS.
The role of USP34 in the fixation of titanium implants in murine models
Authors: Xue Hanxiao , Guo Yuchen , Zhang Shiwen , Xu Tong , Wen Junru , Kang Ning , Yuan Quan
Published: May 2020

Ubiquitin‐specific protease 34 (USP34), a member of the ubiquitin‐specific protease family, regulates osteogenic differentiation of bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells via bone morphogenetic protein signaling. This study aimed to investigate the role of USP34 in fixation of titanium implants in mouse models. Eight‐week‐old Usp34‐knockout (Prx1‐Cre;Usp34f/f) mice and their Usp34 wild‐type (Usp34f/f) control littermates were used. Experimental titanium implants were inserted into the distal ends of femurs and the edentulous area of maxillae. Two and four weeks after surgery, samples of femur and maxilla were obtained, and micro‐computed tomography scanning, histomorphometric analyses, and push‐in tests were performed on the samples. Compared with controls, Prx1‐Cre;Usp34f/f mice showed reduced bone volume for both femurs and maxillae; a decreased femoral bone–implant contact ratio (BIC) at 2 wk [mean (standard error of the mean): 62.17% (2.15%) vs. 44.06% (3.45%)] and 4 wk [72.46% (1.61%) vs. 64.53% (1.93%)]; decreases in femoral bone volume fraction (BV/TV) and push‐in resistance; and lower BIC and BV/TV of the maxillae. Taken together, our data demonstrate that specific deletion of Usp34 in mesenchymal stem cells impairs fixation of titanium implants in mice.
Pharmacological inhibition and knockdown of O‐GlcNAcase reduces cellular internalization of α‐synuclein preformed fibrils
Authors: Tavassoly Omid , Yue Jefferey , Vocadlo David J.
Published: May 2020

The pathological hallmark of Parkinson's disease (PD) is Lewy bodies that form within the brain from aggregated forms of α‐synuclein (α‐syn). These toxic α‐syn aggregates are transferred from cell to cell by release of fibrils from dying neurons into the extracellular environment, followed by their subsequent uptake by neighboring cells. This process leads to spreading of the pathology throughout the brain in a prion‐like manner. Identifying new pathways that hinder the internalization of such α‐syn fibrils is of high interest for their downstream potential exploitation as a way to create disease‐modifying therapeutics for PD. Here, we show that Thiamet‐G, a highly selective pharmacological agent that inhibits the glycoside hydrolase O‐GlcNAcase (OGA), blunts the cellular uptake of α‐syn fibrils. This effect correlates with increased nucleocytoplasmic levels of O‐linked N‐acetylglucosamine (O‐GlcNAc)‐modified proteins, and genetic knockdown of OGA expression closely phenocopies both these effects. These reductions in the uptake of α‐syn fibrils caused by inhibition of OGA are both concentration‐ and time‐dependent and are observed in multiple cell lines including mouse primary cortical neurons. Moreover, treatment of cells with the OGT inhibitor, 5SGlcNHex, increases the level of uptake of α‐syn PFFs, further supporting O‐GlcNAcylation of proteins driving these effects. Notably, this effect is mediated through an unknown mechanism that does not involve well‐characterized endocytotic pathways. These data suggest one mechanism by which OGA inhibitors might exert their protective effects in prion‐like neuropathologies and support exploration of OGA inhibitors as a potential disease‐modifying approach to treat PD.
Outreach and diagnosis: Saudi Arabia's experience
Authors: Owaidah Tarek
Published: May 2020

The World Federation of Hemophilia (WFH) is an international nonprofit organization dedicated to improving and sustaining the lives of individuals with haemophilia. According to the World Federation of Hemophilia (WFH) annual global survey, haemophilia A has a prevalence of 105 per million males and 28 per million males of haemophilia B in a global population of 6 billion. The annual global survey reported 295 000 individuals with haemophilia, von Willebrand disease and other bleeding disorders in 113 countries. WFH estimated approximately 70% of patients with haemophilia under diagnosed globally. The variability of occurrence of these disorders in different ethnicities, lack of awareness and diagnostic facilities/expertise led to the prevalence of other bleeding disorders being much more underestimated. The main reason for the gap between detected (reported) and estimated numbers of patients with bleeding disorders includes the lack of laboratory facilities and trained personnel required to establish an accurate diagnosis for bleeding disorders.
Show me the evidence: Effectiveness of low‐dose prophylaxis
Authors: Gouider Emna
Published: May 2020

Prophylaxis is the gold standard treatment for haemophilia but requires more amount of clotting factor concentrates, than on demand therapy. Low dose prophylaxis is an alternative for countries with limited resources. There are data of evidence showing the superiority of low‐dose prophylaxis than episodic treatment. Studies from China, India, Tunisia, Thailand and Indonesia reported experiences with low dose prophylaxis using outcome assessment. These studies have shown the effectiveness of various protocols regimen with once, twice or thrice injection of 10‐15 UI Kg‐1 per injection. These protocols allow reduction of joint bleeds and at least delay of joint damages. There is not enough long‐term data nowadays, but low dose prophylaxis is certainly better than on demand therapy and should be considered as a first step of prophylaxis in some countries but not the final goal.
Low‐dose surgical prophylaxis: Optimization of use of World Federation of Hemophilia Humanitarian Aid donated clotting factor concentrates to developing countries
Authors: El Ekiaby Magdy , Haffar Assad
Published: May 2020

Background

Patients with hemophilia (PWH) might need surgical interventions during the course of their lives. Such medical interventions pose hemostatic challenges and requests infusion of clotting factor concentrates (CFCs) during peri and postoperative for variable periods to prevent bleeding and until complete wound healing. Access to CFCs to PWH living in resource limited settings is usually a challenge which makes surgical interventions either risky or not practical. Recently World Federation of Hemophilia (WFH) started a humanitarian aid program to channel CFCs into resource limited countries and which allowed the possibility to perform surgical interventions for PWH in these countries.

Aim of work

To study safety and efficacy of using lower doses of CFCs for surgical prophylaxis.

Methods

Review of literature and our center experience to demonstrate safety and efficacy of low dose surgical prophylaxis using CFCs

Results

Several elements can help using lower doses of CFCs for surgical prophylaxis in resource limited setting. These elements include severity of hemophilia, type of surgical procedure, the use of hemostatic surgical techniques, the type of CFCs, the mode of infusion of CFCs and finally the use of adjunctive therapies

Conclusion

Management of surgical procedures for PWH in a multidisciplinary specialized hemophilia treatment centers with proper understanding of hemostatic and surgical challenges of the procedure can allow for safe and effective use of lower doses of CFCs for surgical prophylaxis.
The biomechanical behaviour of ankle and foot joints during walking with shoes in patients with haemophilia
Authors: Eerdekens Maarten , Peerlinck Kathelijne , Staes Filip , Hermans Cédric , Lobet Sébastien , Deschamps Kevin
Published: May 2020

Introduction

Patients with haemophilia (PwH) often prefer shod walking over barefoot walking as footwear offers ankle joint stability and comfort during gait. Yet, the biomechanical mechanisms contributing to the latter remain poorly understood.

Aim

To explore the effect of shoes on the biomechanical functioning of the ankle and foot complex in PwH with and without haemophilic ankle arthropathy and to determine the amount of ankle joint loading during shod walking.

Methods

We analysed data of PwH without haemophilic ankle arthropathy (n = 5) and PwH with severe haemophilic ankle arthropathy (n = 17) and a control group (n = 17). During 3D gait analysis, a four‐segment kinetic foot model was used to calculate kinematic and kinetic parameters of the ankle, Chopart, Lisfranc and first metatarsophalangeal (MTP 1) joints during both barefoot and shod walking.

Results

We found a significantly greater ankle joint power generation during shod walking compared to barefoot walking in PwH with severe haemophilic ankle arthropathy (P < .001). Chopart joint biomechanics were significantly lowered in all three groups during shod walking compared to barefoot walking. During shod walking, the ankle joint load was significantly lowered in both PwH groups (P = .039 and P = .002), but not in the control group (P = .952).

Conclusion

Explorations in this study uncover a tendency that shoes alter the biomechanical functioning of the ankle and foot complex in PwH and simultaneously lower the ankle joint load during walking.
Periostin antisense oligonucleotide prevents hepatic steatosis and fibrosis in a mouse model of non‐alcoholic steatohepatitis
Authors: Kobayashi Tomoki , Kanno Keishi , Nguyen Phuong Thao , Sugiyama Akiko , Kawahara Akihiro , Otani Yuichiro , Kishikawa Nobusuke , Ito Masanori , Tazuma Susumu
Published: May 2020

Background and Aim

Non‐alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) is characterized by hepatic steatosis, inflammation, and hepatocellular injury with varying degrees of fibrosis. There are currently no established treatment approaches for NASH other than lifestyle interventions. Periostin, a matricellular protein required for tissue remodeling and fibrosis, plays an important role in hepatic steatosis and fibrosis and could be a potential target for NASH treatment. Advances in molecular biology and biochemical engineering have led to the development of antisense oligonucleotides (ASOs) that can inhibit target genes with no significant toxic effects. Herein, we investigated the therapeutic effects of periostin‐targeting ASO (PNASO) in NASH.

Methods

C57BL/6J mice were fed a choline‐deficient, l‐amino acid‐defined, high‐fat diet (CDAHFD) to induce NASH with or without intraperitoneal injection of mouse PNASO. To explore the role of periostin in hepatocellular steatosis, Hc3716 cells, an immortalized human hepatocyte line, were treated with recombinant periostin in vitro.

Results

The induced periostin expression in the liver of CDAHFD‐fed mice was significantly suppressed by PNASO. The deletion of hepatic periostin by PNASO significantly ameliorated hepatic steatosis while restoring the expression levels of peroxisome proliferator‐activated receptor‐alpha (PPAR‐α) and its target genes. PNASO also inhibited hepatic fibrosis, reflected by the reduction of alpha‐smooth muscle actin, collagen type I, and other fibrotic markers. In vitro experiments demonstrated that treatment with recombinant periostin increased cellular lipid accumulation in Hc3716 cells accompanied with the downregulation of PPAR‐α.

Conclusions

Periostin‐targeting ASO is a potential therapeutic approach for the efficient treatment of hepatic steatosis and fibrosis in NASH.
Trends in Parental Values in a Period of U.S. Labor Market Change
Authors: Ryan Rebecca M. , Kalil Ariel , Hines Caitlin , Ziol‐Guest Kathleen
Published: May 2020

Objective

This article examines changes from 1986 to 2016 in the characteristics that parents in the United States most value in their children and differences in those values by parent income and education.

Background

As a result of interrelated labor market changes, income‐ and education‐based differences in parents' terminal values that have characterized U.S. families for generations are hypothesized to have converged by income and education during this period.

Method

Data were drawn from the General Social Surveys (https://gss.norc.org/) and the Panel Study of Income Dynamics (https://psidonline.isr.umich.edu/), together spanning the period 1986–2016. The percentage of parents endorsing each child trait as “most important” were compared over time across the 90th, 50th, and 10th percentiles of the income and education distributions.

Results

The characteristic parents most value in children across time was the ability to “think for themselves”; however, parents have placed increasing value on children's willingness to “work hard” and “help others.” Parents with lower incomes and less education, compared with economically advantaged parents, became less likely to value children's obedience, whereas economically advantaged parents became less likely to value children's thinking for themselves.

Conclusion

Consequently, the income‐ and education‐based gaps in the value of obedience and thinking for oneself have narrowed. As such, parents at the top and bottom of the socioeconomic distribution hold more similar parental values today than ever before.
Detection of congestive heart failure by Doppler echocardiography in cats with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy
Authors: Rohrbaugh Michelle N. , Schober Karsten E. , Rhinehart Jaylyn D. , Bonagura John D. , Habing Amy , Yildiz Vedat
Published: May 2020

Background

Left‐sided congestive heart failure (CHF) is characterized by increased filling pressures and related Doppler echocardiographic (DE) filling patterns.

Hypothesis

Doppler echocardiographic variables of left ventricular filling derived from transmitral flow, pulmonary vein flow, and tissue Doppler can be used to detect CHF in cats with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM).

Animals

Forty‐seven client‐owned cats.

Methods

Prospective clinical cohort study. Cats underwent physical examination, thoracic radiography, analysis of N‐terminal pro‐brain natriuretic peptide (NT‐proBNP), and transthoracic echocardiography and were divided into 3 age‐matched groups: Group 1 (apparently healthy control), Group 2 (preclinical HCM), and Group 3 (HCM and CHF). Measured and calculated variables included respiratory rate, DE estimates, serum NT‐proBNP concentration, and radiographic CHF score. Groups were compared using ANOVA, and receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve and multivariate analyses were used to identify diagnostic cutoffs for the detection of CHF.

Results

Fifteen cats were in Group 1, 17 in Group 2, and 15 in Group 3. The ROC analysis indicated that the ratio of peak velocity of early diastolic transmitral flow to peak velocity of late diastolic transmitral flow (area under the curve [AUC], 1.0; diagnostic cutoff, 1.77; P = .001), ratio of left atrial size to aortic annular dimension (AUC, 0.91; diagnostic cutoff, 1.96; P = .003), left atrial diameter (AUC, 0.89; cutoff, 18.5 mm; P = .004), diastolic functional class (AUC, 0.89; cutoff, class 2; P = .005), respiratory (AUC, 0.79; cutoff, 36 breaths per minute [brpm]; P = .02), and the ratio of the peak velocity of fused early and late transmitral flow velocities to the peak velocity of the fused early and late diastolic tissue Doppler waveforms (AUC, 0.74; cutoff, 15.1; P = .05) performed best for detecting CHF.

Conclusions and Clinical Importance

Various DE variables can be used to detect CHF in cats with HCM. Determination of the clinical benefit of such variables in initiating treatments and assessing treatment success needs further study.
Abundance, diversity and temporal activity of adult Culicoides spp. associated with cattle in West Bengal, India
Authors: Harsha R. , Mazumdar S. M. , Mazumdar A.
Published: May 2020

Relative abundance, species composition and temporal activity of Culicoides midges were studied for a period of 2 years (2012–2014) using suction ultra violet light traps at two sites located in the agriculture heartland of West Bengal, India. Surveillance in close proximity to cattle recorded predominance of five species with C oxystoma and C. peregrinus as the most dominant species followed by C. fulvus, C. innoxius and C. anophelis. The temporal activity of midges was investigated for seven consecutive nights at one site in August‐September, 2012 and the predominant species was Culicoides oxystoma followed by Culicoides peregrinus. All of the species exhibited crepuscular activity with their flight activity increasing from dusk to dawn. Engorged adults constituted dominant age group in collections. Studies on population ecology of the adults midges are of considerable importance predicting for the epidemicity of midge‐borne diseases in cattle.