bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Determinants of users’ information dissemination behavior on social networking sites
Authors: Shi Juan , Hu Ping , Lai Kin Keung , Chen Gang
Published: February 2018

Purpose

As a new communication paradigm, social networking sites (SNS) have boosted information diffusion and viral marketing. Prior researchers have identified various factors affecting information dissemination on SNS. However, they often focus on limited factors and there is a lack of an integrated theoretical framework that explains aspects of relevant factors. Besides, the research on the impacts of relationships on individual retweeting behavior is still controversial. The purpose of this paper is to propose a theoretical framework to systematically investigate the determinants of individual dissemination behavior on SNS based on the elaboration likelihood model (ELM). Moreover, the authors also examine the relative importance of those relevant factors.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors randomly selected 1,250 members of Twitter and crawled posts published by each member since he/she created the Twitter account using Twitter API. The authors processed the data to create panel data and tested hypotheses with the panel logit model.

Findings

Factors both on the central route and on the peripheral route of ELM have positive impacts on individual dissemination behavior. Among them, information receiver-related factor and relationships-related factors are the most influential. Contrastingly, source-related factors are the least influential. Furthermore, the authors find that social tie strength mediates almost 50 percent of the effect of value homophily on individual dissemination behavior.

Originality/value

The authors are the first to directly apply ELM to examine individual dissemination behavior on SNS. By integrating factors into the two information processing routes, They incorporate relevant factors into the model and systematically analyze their impacts on individual retweeting behavior on SNS. The research offers at least one explanation for the contradictory findings about the effect of homophily on individual sharing behavior in previous research. The authors propose new variables that gauge topical relevance and interpersonal value homophily on SNS.
The impact of perceived online service quality on swiftguanxi
Authors: Shi Si , Mu Ren , Lin Lin , Chen Yang , Kou Gang , Chen Xue-Jiao
Published: February 2018

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the impact of online service quality on swiftguanxithat influences customer repurchase intention and the moderating role of gender in the relationship between online service quality and swiftguanxi.

Design/methodology/approach

Based on survey data obtained from 274 college students, structural equation modeling was used to test the research hypotheses.

Findings

The results show that the dimensions of online service quality (i.e. perceived control, convenience and customer service) are positively related to buyer-seller swiftguanxi, which influences repurchase intention. Additionally, men are driven mainly by perceived control and service convenience when establishing swiftguanxi, whereas women care more about customer service.

Originality/value

Online service quality is the key factor underlying customer repurchase intention. In addition, gender differences exist in many aspects of online shopping including information processing, perceived service, and perceived risk. This is one of the first empirical studies that empirically examine the effects of three dimensions of online service quality on swiftguanxiand take gender differences into consideration. Based on the conceptual and empirical evidence, this study provides the practical and theoretical implications of these findings.
Entrepreneurial initiatives as a microfoundation of dynamic capabilities
Authors: Mahringer Christian A. , Renzl Birgit
Published: February 2018

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to show how entrepreneurial initiatives in organizations serve as a microfoundation of dynamic capabilities and, thus, foster change in organizations.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper revises and applies conceptual and empirical research on dynamic capabilities, their microfoundations and corporate entrepreneurship. In addition, it develops a model of how entrepreneurial initiatives, operative routines and capabilities interact.

Findings

The paper develops a model of how entrepreneurial initiatives in organizations represent a microfoundation of dynamic capabilities. First, the model shows that environmental dynamism reduces fit of operative routines and capabilities. Second, the model states that entrepreneurial initiatives are triggered by operative routines and capabilities with respect to environmental dynamism. Third, the model suggests that entrepreneurial initiatives disrupt operative routines and capabilities and, thus, restore their fit in dynamic environments. The paper contributes to current research on dynamic capabilities, their microfoundations and corporate entrepreneurship.

Originality/value

This paper addresses the tension between routinization and the entrepreneurial nature of dynamic capabilities. Considering entrepreneurial initiatives as a microfoundation shows that dynamic capabilities might be entrepreneurial, but still preserve their patterned nature enabling repeated execution. This approach provides a way to reconcile the two sub-streams in dynamic capability research and preserve their ontological assumptions. Moreover, this paper extends the literature on dynamic capabilities by ascertaining how individual and group level entrepreneurial initiatives operate within a broader context.
Financing organizational changes from without
Authors: Lenartowicz Marta
Published: February 2018

Purpose

Achieving specific changes within autonomous organizations is often a necessary condition for the success of strategic public policy. Wherever it is impossible to induce such changes by regulations, a frequently used tool is inducing their occurrence with financial stimuli. This practice appears to have been fully substantiated by the early systems-evolutionary understanding of the relationship between organizations and their environment, whose peak popularity in the 1950s and 1960s coincided with the appearance of new international organizations formulating strategic policies on a previously unprecedented scale. The conceptual framework available at that time failed, however, to provide a solid ground for operationalization and systemic evaluation of such interventions. As a result, even though it was implicitly presumed that policy implementation depended on organizational changes taking place in a large number of organizations, a conceptualization of the exact ways of how to ensure and assess such changes was hardly pronounced. This paper aims to uncover the problematique of that missing conceptualization.

Design/methodology/approach

In this paper, the author draws on the second-order stream of systems thinking, arguing that without such a deliberate operationalization, it seems much more likely that the external financing of organizational changes functions merely as organizational “perturbations” which do not crystallize into lasting changes, as they are mitigated by equally potent “compensation” to cancel out the perturbations. Using the theory of social system’s autopoiesis, the author posits that adaptive fluctuations evoked in organizations by the interferences of the policymakers may thus be considered “change” just as well as non-change.

Findings

Once the behavior of an autopoietic organizational system is seen as a continuous perpetuation of its own identity pattern, fashioned discursively as the organization’s self-description, then the only change which seems worthy of the publicly assigned resources and efforts is a shift in that pattern.

Originality/value

It is argued that the assessment of whether target organizations are indeed implementing or only superficially performing (and instantly compensating for) the desired changes should be inferred from a qualitative analysis of the daily discursive practices that forge the target domains rather than by a comparison of the measurable parameters, which are currently dominating in the evidence-based paradigm.
The trade-off between knowledge exploration and exploitation in technological innovation
Authors: Li Dehong , Lin Jun , Cui Wentian , Qian Yanjun
Published: February 2018

Purpose

This study aims to clarify the effect of team effort allocation between knowledge exploration and exploitation on the generation of extremely good or poor innovations. The influence of previous collaborative experience among team members on the effect of team effort allocation is also investigated to understand the relationship between team members’ collaboration networks and knowledge learning.

Design/methodology/approach

This study uses data of all patents granted by the US Patent and Trademark Office between 1984 and 2010. The inventors involved in a patent are regarded as members of the focal team. Logistic regression is used to analyze the data.

Findings

Allocating greater effort to exploration than to exploitation is beneficial to achieving breakthrough innovations despite the risk of generating particularly poor innovations. This benefit increases with collaborative experience among team members. Placing an equal emphasis on knowledge exploration and exploitation is not particularly effective in achieving breakthrough innovations; it is, however, the best strategy for avoiding particularly poor innovations.

Originality/value

This research not only provides valuable insights for research on innovation and knowledge management by studying the team effort allocation strategy used to achieve breakthroughs and avoid particularly poor innovations but also represents an advancement in bridging two streams of research – knowledge learning and social networks – by highlighting the influence of the team members’ collaborative networks on the effect of team effort allocation between knowledge exploration and exploitation.
The two sides of CEO pay injustice
Authors: Aguinis Herman , Martin Geoffrey P. , Gomez-Mejia Luis R. , O’Boyle Ernest H. , Joo Harry
Published: February 2018

Purpose

The purpose of this study was to examine the extent to which chief executive officers (CEOs) deserve the pay they receive both in terms of over and underpayment.

Design/methodology/approach

Rather than using the traditional normal distribution view in which CEO performance clusters around the mean with relatively little variance, the authors adopt a novel power law approach. They studied 22 industries andN= 4,158 CEO-firm combinations for analyses based on Tobin’s Q andN= 5,091 for analyses based on return on assets. Regarding compensation, they measured the CEO distribution based on total compensation and three components of CEO total pay: salary, bonus, and value of options exercised.

Findings

In total, 86 percent of CEO performance and 91 percent of CEO pay distributions fit a power law better than a normal distribution, indicating that a minority of CEOs are producing top value for their firms (i.e. CEO performance) and a minority of CEOs are appropriating top value for themselves (i.e. CEO pay). But, the authors also found little overlap between CEOs who are the top performers and CEOs who are the top earners.

Implications

The findings shed new light on CEO pay deservingness by using a novel conceptual and methodological lens that highlights systematic over and underpayment. Results suggest a violation of distributive justice and offer little support for agency theory’s efficient contracting hypothesis, which have important implications for agency theory, equity theory, justice theory, and agent risk sharing and agent risk bearing theories.

Practical implications

Results highlight erroneous practices when trying to benchmark CEO pay based on average levels of performance in an industry because the typical approach to CEO compensation based on averages significantly underpays stars and overpays average performers.

Originality/value

Results offer new insights on the extent of over and underpayment. The findings uncover an extremely large non-overlap between the top earning and top performing CEOs and to an extent far greater in magnitude than previously suggested.
The fattest of the fat cats: observations on Aguinis and colleagues’ findings on CEO pay
Authors: Hambrick Donald C.
Published: February 2018

Purpose

This paper aims to elaborate upon the work of Aguinis and colleagues (this issue), who showed that there is almost no overlap between the chief executive officers (CEOs; of American publicly traded corporations) who are in the upper tail of the CEO pay distribution and the firms that are in the upper tail of the performance distribution.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper is an essay/commentary regarding the merits and implications of the paper by Aguinis and colleagues.

Findings

Drawing upon prior work, the author proposes that CEOs’ tenure-long pay patterns are established – essentially baked-in or hardwired – when CEOs first get hired. For various reasons, some CEOs receive ultra-grand pay packages at the outset of their tenures, and nothing – including mediocre performance – brings about subsequent diminishment of those sweet terms.

Research limitations/implications

This paper sheds new light on the work by Aguinis and colleagues, in turn contributing new insights about the fairness (or lack thereof) of CEO pay determinations.

Originality/value

This paper integrates Aguinis and colleagues with prior works on CEO over- and underpayment.
The elusive linkage between CEO pay and performance
Authors: Ledford Gerald Edward , Lawler Edward E.
Published: February 2018

Purpose

The authors comment on the paper by Aguinis et al. (2018). The authors believe that their hypotheses probably are true, but their methodology is flawed and their data do not support their conclusions.

Design/Methodology

The authors review and comment on the paper by Aguinis et al. (2018).

Findings

The data do not adequately demonstrate a power law distribution for chief executive officer’s (CEO) performance because the analysis confounded external conditions affecting performance, and the authors use inappropriate dependent variables. The analysis does not demonstrate a power law distribution for CEO pay because the analysis does not take into account changes in pay level and mix over time. The analysis does not show a lack of overlap between the two distributions because it does not take into account the way that the CEOs are paid for performance and because it uses CEO pay averaged over CEO tenure.

Research limitations/implications

A more convincing analysis of the authors’ hypothesis would require the use of total shareholder return (TSR) as the dependent variable for organizational performance and would require a number of much more specific controls.

Practical implications

The authors call for greater use of power law thinking by practitioners in setting CEO pay. Their analysis indicates that practitioners already think in power law terms and allocate CEO pay accordingly. Moreover, power law theory and findings could be misused as an excuse for paying average CEOs much more than they are already paid.

Social implications

The authors add another perspective on CEO pay.

Originality/value

The authors’ perspective is informed both by research and by consulting experience on CEO pay projects.
Participant or Spectator? Victim‐Focused Political Activity since 2010
Authors: Harding Natacha
Published: February 2018

The public significance of the victim has shifted over successive governments. Each party, when in power, has utilised and politicised the victim to support its policy and legislative agenda. However, on the whole, this attention has been reserved for those who are victims of serious crime (such as murder, sexual violence and domestic abuse) and not volume offences (such as burglary, criminal damage, theft). Recent years have seen the inquiry rising in popularity, a ‘quick political fix’ to satisfy victims—and the public—that action on societal ills is being taken. However, in so doing, successive governments have, perhaps inadvertently, tended to replicate the ‘hierarchy of victimisation’ that is witnessed in frontline criminal justice activities. This has the result of affording victims only a spectator role when policy and legislative changes are being developed in their name. By contrast, the actions taken in developing expert and practitioner‐led policy around victim experience have proved to be more ‘successful’ in generating lasting change. This article suggests that there is no single ‘right’ approach to involving victims in policy development, but that each particular incident or situation needs consideration as how most ‘effectively’ to involve first‐hand victim experience.
Proteolysis and Its Control Using Protease Inhibitors in Fish and Fish Products: A Review
Authors: Singh Avtar , Benjakul Soottawat
Published: February 2018

Texture is one of the food quality attributes affecting the consumer's acceptability and the market value. Fish and shellfish undergo weakening or softening of muscle, particularly during extended storage under inappropriate conditions. The phenomenon is governed by endogenous proteases, both digestive and muscle proteases. Proteases present in the gastrointestinal tract that leach out to muscle tissue can induce proteolysis of myofibrillar and collagenous proteins. Furthermore, the muscle proteins present in gels fabricated from fish or shellfish meat also encounter degradation during thermal processing. Endogenous heat‐activated proteases strongly bind to muscle proteins and are activated during heating, thereby degrading myofibrillar proteins, which are abundant in muscle tissue. This deterioration of the proteins directly leads to a weakened gel with poor water‐holding capacity. Both cysteine and serine proteases are responsible for the degradation of myofibrillar proteins in several aquatic animals. Effective pretreatment of fish and shellfish, as well as the use of food‐grade protease inhibitors (PIs), have been implemented to inactivate endogenous muscle and digestive proteases. For this review, proteolysis of muscle proteins and its control by food‐grade PIs are revisited. Improved and effective lowering of proteolysis should be gained, thereby maintaining the quality of fish and their products.
Therapeutic alliance in dietetic practice for weight loss: Insights from health coaching
Authors: Nagy Annaliese , McMahon Anne , Tapsell Linda , Deane Frank , Arenson Danielle
Published: February 2018

Aim

The psychological construct of ‘therapeutic alliance’ can be used to better understand the effectiveness of consultations, particularly goal setting for weight management. We analysed audio‐recorded health coaching sessions during a weight loss trial to explore relationships between therapeutic alliance and various contextual factors.

Methods

Audio recordings of 50 health coaching sessions were analysed. After assessing fidelity to the protocol, therapeutic alliance was measured using an adapted Working Alliance Inventory Observer‐rated Short Version (WAI‐O‐S), and examined by (i) identifying relationships between contextual factors and WAI‐O‐S scores (Spearman's coefficients); (ii) testing the impact of preparatory exercises and body mass index on WAI‐O‐S scores (one‐way analysis of variance and least‐squared differences tests) and (iii) comparing differences in WAI‐O‐S scores based on relationship status, gender and follow‐up session completion (independent samples t‐tests).

Results

Fidelity was high (mean 88%). WAI‐O‐S total scores ranged from 55 to 70 (out of 84). Session duration was significantly correlated with WAI‐O‐S component of ‘Bond’ (r = 0.42, P = 0.002). Those who completed preparatory exercises had significantly higher total WAI‐O‐S scores, ‘Goal’ and ‘Task’ scores. Participants who completed the follow‐up session scored significantly higher for ‘Goal’ compared to no follow‐up.

Conclusions

Spending more time in a session appears related to increased bonding, a key component of therapeutic alliance. Preparatory work may help build therapeutic alliance and agreement on goals appears to influence follow‐up completion. These exploratory findings provide directions for research addressing the professional relationship in dietetic consultations for weight loss.
Fermented Nut‐Based Vegan Food: Characterization of a Home made Product and Scale‐Up to an Industrial Pilot‐Scale Production
Authors: Tabanelli Giulia , Pasini Federica , Riciputi Ylenia , Vannini Lucia , Gozzi Giorgia , Balestra Federica , Caboni Maria Fiorenza , Gardini Fausto , Montanari Chiara
Published: February 2018

Because of the impossibility to consume food of animal origin, vegan consumers are looking for substitutes that could enrich their diet. Among many substitutes, fermented nut products are made from different nut types and obtained after soaking, grinding, and fermentation. Although other fermented vegetable products have been deeply investigated, there are few data about the fermentative processes of nut‐based products and the microbial consortia able to colonize these products are not yet studied. This study characterized a hand‐made vegan product obtained from cashew nut. Lactic acid bacteria responsible for fermentation were identified, revealing a succession of hetero‐ and homo‐fermentative species during process. Successively, some lactic acid bacteria isolates from the home‐made vegan product were used for a pilot‐scale fermentation. The products obtained were characterized and showed features similar to the home‐made one, although the microbiological hazards have been prevented through proper and rapid acidification, enhancing their safety features.

Practical Application

Spontaneous fermented products are valuable sources of microorganisms that can be used in many food processes as starter cultures. The lactic acid bacteria isolated in this research can be exploited by industries to develop new foods and therefore to enter new markets. The use of selected starter cultures guarantees good organoleptic characteristics and food safety (no growth of pathogens).
Molecular Analysis, Biochemical Characterization, Antimicrobial Activity, and Immunological Analysis of Proteus mirabilis Isolated from Broilers
Authors: Yeh Hung‐Yueh , Line John E. , Hinton Arthur
Published: February 2018

Proteus mirabilis, a Gram‐negative bacterium, is ubiquitous in the environment and is considered as the normal microflora in the human gastrointestinal tract. However, this bacterium is an opportunistic pathogen in humans, often causing urinary tract infections. Moreover, Proteus has been frequently isolated from food animals, including poultry. Whether this bacterium contributes to the foodborne illness in humans is unclear. In this report, P. mirabilis isolates recovered from broilers during housing in the units were characterized, their antimicrobial activity was assayed, and broiler immune response to the soluble proteins was determined. Cecal contents and fecal droppings were treated according to the standard protocol for isolation. Speciation based on biochemical reactions and the antimicrobial activity of the isolates were carried out using commercial kits. Immunoblot was assayed to determine immune status of broilers against P. mirabilis. A total of 10 isolates of P. mirabilis were selected for further characterization. These isolates could grow in pH 6.0 and 1% NaCl conditions. They were resistant to sodium lactate, troleandomycin, rifamycin SV, vancomycin, but sensitive to nalidixic acid, cefotaxime and novobiocin. Moreover, the CTX, ACC, CMY‐1, BIC, NDM, VEB, qnrB and qnrD genes were detected by PCR amplification in all isolates. Sera from broilers harboring this bacterium reacted to the P. mirabilis soluble proteins, but not from litter‐ and age‐matched P. mirabilis negative and SPF chickens, indicating that this bacterium infected chickens that could have humoral immune response against P. mirabilis. This study provides a rationale for further monitoring P. mirabilis during poultry production to determine whether this bacterium poses potential threats to public health.
Antifungal, Mechanical, and Physical Properties of Edible Film ContainingWilliopsis saturnusvar.saturnusAntagonistic Yeast
Authors: Karabulut Gulsah , Cagri‐Mehmetoglu Arzu
Published: February 2018

The molding of food products causing health risks is a main problem in the food industry. In this study, as an alternative solution for preventing mold growth, an antifungal edible film was developed by incorporatingWilliopsis saturnusvar.saturnus(0; 3; 7; and 9 logs CFU/cm2) into whey protein concentrate (WPC) based films. Antifungal properties of the films againstPenicilium expansumandAspergillus nigerwere analyzed using the disc diffusion method. Physical (barrier, solubility, color), mechanical (tensile strength and percent elongation) properties of the films as well as the survival ofW. saturnusin the film were assessed during 28 days of storage at 23 °C. According to the results, the viability ofW. saturnus(7 and 9 logs CFU/cm2) in WPC films stored for 28 days under vacuum or non‐vacuum decreased to 36% and 60%, respectively. In addition, films containingW. saturnusdecreased the viability ofP. expansumandA. nigerby 29% and 19%, respectively. Adding yeast did not change the tensile strength (P> 0.05), but significantly decreased % elongation and increased water vapor and oxygen permeability and water solubility (P< 0.05). In conclusion, this study showed that the developed films may be useful for inhibiting mold growth on foods.
A Novel Modified Lipid: Enzymatic Esterification of 2‐Monoacylglycerol with N‐acetyl‐l‐leucine
Authors: Keskin Çavdar Hasene , Koçak Yanık Derya , Göğüş Fahrettin , Fadıloğlu Sibel
Published: February 2018

The objective of this research was to synthesize and characterize a novel modified lipid which is composed of mainly oleic acid at sn‐2 position and a hydrophobic essential amino acid derivative (N‐acetyl‐l‐leucine) at sn‐1(3) or sn‐1, 3 positions. LC‐MS‐MS analysis indicated that the target modified lipid structure was obtained at the end of the developed reaction. Response surface methodology was applied to enhance a reliable empirical model for prediction and to optimize reaction conditions: reaction time (8 to 24 hr), reaction temperature (40 to 55 °C), and enzyme load (15 to 30 wt%). The percentage of total reaction products was found to be 28.5 at the optimum conditions of 54 °C, 8 hr and 15% (by mass) enzyme load. This result is closely correlated to the predicted highest total reaction product (29.3%) obtained by response surface methodology. The physical and thermal characteristics of the modified lipid and refined olive pomace oil were compared and found to be similar. Caloric value of modified lipid was decreased by 18.65% compared to that of refined olive pomace oil. A novel modified lipid which may have potential uses in healthy food industries was successfully produced with the incorporation of N‐acetyl‐l‐leucine to 2‐monoacylglycerol.

Practical Application

A novel modified lipid was synthesized by enzymatic incorporation of a “hydrophobic and essential amino acid derivative” into 2‐monoacylglycerol. This modified lipid contains mainly oleic acid at sn‐2 position and N‐acetyl‐l‐leucine at sn‐1,3 positions. The product behaved as an oil above 10 °C. Caloric value of the novel oil‐like product was reduced by 18.65%. The modified lipid may have the potential for replacement with the oil in food products such as margarine, shortenings, salad dressing, and mayonnaise.
Ultrasound‐Assisted Extraction of Cannabinoids from Cannabis Sativa L. Optimized by Response Surface Methodology
Authors: Agarwal Charu , Máthé Katalin , Hofmann Tamás , Csóka Levente
Published: February 2018

Ultrasonication was used to extract bioactive compounds from Cannabis sativa L. such as polyphenols, flavonoids, and cannabinoids. The influence of 3 independent factors (time, input power, and methanol concentration) was evaluated on the extraction of total phenols (TPC), flavonoids (TF), ferric reducing ability of plasma (FRAP) and the overall yield. A face‐centered central composite design was used for statistical modelling of the response data, followed by regression and analysis of variance in order to determine the significance of the model and factors. Both the solvent composition and the time significantly affected the extraction while the sonication power had no significant impact on the responses. The response predictions obtained at optimum extraction conditions of 15 min time, 130 W power, and 80% methanol were 314.822 mg GAE/g DW of TPC, 28.173 mg QE/g DW of TF, 18.79 mM AAE/g DW of FRAP, and 10.86% of yield. A good correlation was observed between the predicted and experimental values of the responses, which validated the mathematical model. On comparing the ultrasonic process with the control extraction, noticeably higher values were obtained for each of the responses. Additionally, ultrasound considerably improved the extraction of cannabinoids present in Cannabis.

Practical Application

Low frequency ultrasound was employed to extract bioactive compounds from the inflorescence part of Cannabis. The responses evaluated were–total phenols, flavonoids, ferric reducing assay and yield. The solvent composition and time significantly influenced the extraction process. Appreciably higher extraction of cannabinoids was achieved on sonication against control.
Comparison of Characteristics of Female Drivers with Single and Multiple DUI Convictions
Authors: Bender Annah K. , Bucholz Kathleen K. , Heath Andrew C. , McCutcheon Vivia V.
Published: February 2018

Background

Women are increasingly involved in drunk driving and fatal crashes, yet except for the screening performed in criminal justice settings, little is known about their life context, psychiatric histories, and family backgrounds. This study describes a sample of women with histories of arrest for driving under the influence of alcohol (DUI) who were interviewed outside a criminal justice setting and contrasts women with single versus multiple DUI convictions.

Methods

Women with recent documented histories of DUI participated in a study of women's health behaviors. Thirty‐six women with 1 DUI and 62 with 2 or more DUIs participated in a diagnostic telephone interview which assessed demographics, alcohol use and problems, psychiatric problems, treatment, and partner violence.

Results

The sample overall had high rates of co‐occurring psychiatric problems, parental alcohol problems, early sexual and physical abuse, and head injuries. Alcohol use severity and the prevalence of head injuries and partner alcohol problems were significantly higher among women with multiple DUIs than women with a single DUI. Measures reflecting life context, such as marital status, number of children, and childhood trauma, were not associated with number of DUIs.

Conclusions

Findings suggest that DUI recidivism in women is accounted for primarily by AUD severity and is not influenced by previous life events such as partner violence, psychiatric problems, and family context such as divorce/separation or number of children. Multiple DUIs in women may mark an alcohol severity threshold beyond which few factors account for additional risk.
Fatal Adverse Event with Dabigatran in Elderly Patient with Reduced Kidney Function
Authors: Havig Stine Marie , Lea Dordi , Krpo Maja , Skari Ragnhild Margrete , Gustavsen Ingebjørg , Høiseth Gudrun
Published: February 2018

An elderly man with decreased kidney function was admitted to hospital with gastrointestinal bleeding. After remaining stable for 2 days in hospital, he became haemodynamically unstable and an adverse effect of dabigatran was suspected, but efforts to treat the patient failed and the following morning he passed away. In conjunction with the autopsy, blood samples from his hospital stay were analysed for dabigatran, revealing the highest concentration (6400 ng/mL) apparently reported to date. Supra‐therapeutic dosing was, however, never suspected. Dabigatran is largely excreted through the kidneys. A possible cause of the high dabigatran concentrations could be a rapid decrease in kidney function that seemingly occurred over a period of 2 months, sometime between his initiation of treatment (eGFR 51–55 mL/min/1.73 m2) and subsequent hospital admission (eGFR 31 mL/min/1.73 m2). The increasing dabigatran concentrations in the patient was, however, not apparent to the prescribing doctor, as therapeutic drug monitoring of dabigatran is not recommended in current guidelines and no such analyses were performed. There may be a need to evaluate blood concentrations of dabigatran, in the light of the reported differences in interindividual concentrations, along with the increased risks of thromboembolic events with lower concentrations and major bleeding events with higher concentrations. Functional assays to assess concentrations of dabigatran in blood have been developed and are available in some hospitals to be used in suspected overdoses or before emergency surgeries. Methods to determine concentrations of dabigatran specifically have also been developed and can additionally be used for therapeutic drug monitoring in an outpatient setting, especially in high‐risk individuals.
Managing penetrating renal trauma: experience from two major trauma centres in the UK
Authors: Hadjipavlou Marios , Grouse Edmund , Gray Robert , Sri Denosshan , Huang Dean , Brown Christian , Sharma Davendra
Published: February 2018

Objectives

To present our series of patients with penetrating renal trauma treated at two urban major trauma centres and to discuss the contemporary management of such injuries.

Methods

We reviewed prospective urological trauma databases for all patients presenting with penetrating renal trauma between January 2005 and October 2016. Patient demographics, clinical characteristics, imaging, management and follow‐up data were analysed.

Results

Over the 11‐year period, 63 patients presented with penetrating renal injuries. The vast majority of patients were male (n = 61; 96.8%), with a mean (range) age of 27.4 (14–71) years. Injuries were equally common on either side (31 left, 32 right). The most common mechanism of injury was stabbing (n = 55; 87.3%), followed by gunshot (n = 7; 11.1%) and crossbow injuries (n = 1; 1.6%). All patients underwent contrast‐enhanced computed tomography. Using the American Association for the Surgery of Trauma renal injury grading system, 11 (17.5%) had grade II, 26 (41.3%) had grade III and 26 (41.3%) had grade IV injury. The most common associated injuries were thoracic (n = 23; 36.5%), liver (n = 11; 17.5%), splenic (n = 10; 15.9%), gastrointestinal tract (n = 8; 12.7%) and musculoskeletal (n = 6; 9.5%). At presentation, 16 patients (25.4%) were haemodynamically unstable. The majority of patients did not require blood transfusion (n = 56; 88.9%), while transfusion of >5 units was rare (n = 4; 6.3%). Fifty‐two patients (82.5%) were managed by observation alone, while 10 (15.9%) underwent emergency angiography and embolization. Patients with grade IV injury were more likely to require embolization than those with grade III injury; however, the difference was not significant (26.9% vs 15.4%; P = 0.29). One patient (1.6%) underwent retroperitoneal exploration of their renal injury and was managed conservatively. Eight patients underwent laparotomy for other visceral injuries while their renal injury was managed conservatively. Renal artery pseudoaneurysm developed in five patients (7.9%) and one patient (1.6%) developed renal arteriovenous malformation. No patients underwent nephrectomy and no mortality was reported.

Conclusions

The vast majority of patients with penetrating renal injuries can be safely managed non‐operatively in this setting. Selective renal artery embolization is an effective option for patients in an unstable condition, with excellent outcomes. Associated thoracic or visceral injuries requiring operative management are common in penetrating renal trauma, while urologists should limit or have a high threshold for surgical intervention.
PERSISTENCE IN CONVERGENCE AND CLUB FORMATION
Authors: Stengos Thanasis , Yazgan M. Ege , Özkan Harun
Published: February 2018

In this paper, we examine the convergence hypothesis using a long memory framework that allows for structural breaks and does not rely on a benchmark country using both univariate and multivariate estimates of the long memory parameter d. Using per capita GDP gaps, we confirm the findings of non‐stationarity and long memory behavior that have been found previously in the literature using univariate tests. However, the support for these findings is much weaker when using a multivariate framework, in which case we find more evidence of stationary behavior. Based on these results, we also investigate club formation, something that would suggest the presence of conditional convergence. We describe a club formation methodology using the sequential testing criteria that we have employed in our analysis as the basis for forming clusters or clubs of countries with similar convergence characteristics.
Anti‐neurofascin 155 antibody‐related neuropathy
Authors: Ogata Hidenori , Yamasaki Ryo
Published: February 2018

Chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy (CIDP) is an intractable inflammatory disease affecting peripheral nerves. The etiology of CIDP remains to be established, but it is regarded as a mixture of heterogeneous conditions presenting a variety of clinical and electrophysiological manifestations. In recent years, autoantibodies against paranodal cell adhesion molecules, such as neurofascin 155 (NF155), contactin 1 and contactin‐associated protein 1, have been detected in subsets of CIDP patients. The clinical characteristics of anti‐NF155 antibody‐positive CIDP have been delineated, and include a younger onset age, higher frequency of distal muscle weakness, sensory ataxia and tremor, higher cerebrospinal fluid protein levels, more conspicuous demyelination on nerve conduction studies, and nerve root hypertrophy on magnetic resonance neurography, when compared with anti‐NF155 antibody‐negative CIDP patients. Predominant elevation of immunoglobulin G4 subclass is also a characteristic of this disease. Sural nerve biopsy specimens of anti‐NF155 antibody‐positive CIDP patients show axo‐glial detachment in paranodes without inflammatory cell infiltrates or onion bulb formation. While intravenous immunoglobulin is not as effective as expected against anti‐NF155 antibody‐positive CIDP patients, other immunotherapies, such as corticosteroids, plasmapheresis and B‐cell depletion therapy, seem to be effective. Early diagnosis and treatment is important for preventing secondary axonal degeneration. The present review summarizes the emerging details of anti‐NF155 antibody‐related neuropathy.
Cytochrome P450 Genetic Variation Associated with Tamoxifen Biotransformation in American Indian and Alaska Native People
Authors: Khan Burhan A. , Robinson Renee , Fohner Alison E. , Muzquiz LeeAnna I. , Schilling Brian D. , Beans Julie A. , Olnes Matthew J. , Trawicki Laura , Frydenlund Holly , Laukes Cindi , Beatty Patrick , Phillips Brian , Nickerson Deborah , Howlett Kevin , Dillard Denise A. , Thornton Timothy A. , Thummel Kenneth E. , Woodahl Erica L.
Published: February 2018

Despite evidence that pharmacogenetics can improve tamoxifen pharmacotherapy, there are few studies with American Indian and Alaska Native (AIAN) people. We examined variation in cytochrome P450 (CYP) genes (CYP2D6, CYP3A4, CYP3A5, and CYP2C9) and tamoxifen biotransformation in AIAN patients with breast cancer (n = 42) from the Southcentral Foundation in Alaska and the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes in Montana. We tested for associations between CYP diplotypes and plasma concentrations of tamoxifen and metabolites. Only the CYP2D6 variation was significantly associated with concentrations of endoxifen (P = 0.0008) and 4‐hydroxytamoxifen (P = 0.0074), tamoxifen's principal active metabolites, as well as key metabolic ratios. The CYP2D6 was also the most significant predictor of active metabolites and metabolic ratios in a multivariate regression model, including all four genes as predictors, with minor roles for other CYP genes. In AIAN populations, CYP2D6 is the largest contributor to tamoxifen bioactivation, illustrating the importance of validating pharmacogenetic testing for therapy optimization in an understudied population.
Creating a new normal: Language education for all
Authors: Moeller Aleidine J. , Abbott Martha G.
Published: February 2018

How close are we to the reality of all students having the opportunity to learn another language and gaining support for these efforts from the general public? The answer has a long history, which we point out by referencing articles that span the 50‐year history of Foreign Language Annals. From the 1979 President's Commission on Foreign Language and International Studies report under President Jimmy Carter (Perkins, 1979) to the recent article by Kroll and Dussias (2017) on the benefits of multilingualism, this article tracks ACTFL's advocacy efforts over the years, including the 2017 launch of the Lead with Languages public awareness campaign and other initiatives such as the Seal of Biliteracy that are rapidly propelling our field closer to a “new normal” in the United States where language education is accessible to all and is viewed as essential to the well‐being of all Americans.
Researching literacies and textual thinking in collegiate foreign language programs: Reflections and recommendations
Authors: Paesani Kate
Published: February 2018

This article reflects on the literacy turn in collegiate foreign language (FL) programs, taking as its central argument that the focus in FL curriculum, instruction, and research should not be on the content we teach, be it language, literature, or culture, but rather on textual thinking and literacies development. After providing a snapshot of findings from previous research, the article focuses on the need for scholarly innovation to fully understand and realize the potential of a literacies and textual thinking orientation for unifying collegiate FL programs. Six future research areas are recommended and discussed: operationalizing key concepts; reconsidering the notion of text in collegiate FL programs; exploring the sociocultural dimension of literacy; building transferable skills and cross‐disciplinary collaborations; investigating connections among literacies, textual thinking, and ACTFL guidelines and standards; and supporting instructors’ implementation of literacies‐based pedagogies.
Optimisation of antithrombin resistance assay as a practical clinical laboratory test: Development of prothrombin activator using factors Xa/Va and automation of assay
Authors: Tamura S. , Suga Y. , Tanamura M. , Murata‐Kawakami M. , Takagi Y. , Hottori Y. , Kakihara M. , Suzuki S. , Takagi A. , Kojima T.
Published: February 2018

Introduction

Antithrombin resistance (ATR) is a novel thrombotic risk in abnormal prothrombins. A manual ATR assay using Oxyuranus scutellatus (Ox) venom as a prothrombin activator was established for detecting antithrombin‐resistant prothrombin. However, this assay was limited because of Ox snake venom availability and its throughput capacity. Here, we have improved the ATR assay using bovine factors Xa and Va (FXa/Va) as prothrombin activators and have optimised assay conditions for an automated instrument (ACL TOP 500).

Methods

Diluted plasma was incubated with a prothrombin activator mix (phospholipids, CaCl2, and bovine FXa/Va), followed by inactivation with antithrombin for 10, 20 and 30 minutes. We added a chromogenic substrate S‐2238, and assessed changes in absorbance/min at 405 nm. We also adapted assay conditions for ACL TOP 500.

Results

Optimum conditions for FXa/Va treatment were 6.25% phospholipids, 5 mM CaCL2, 0.01 μg/mL FXa and 0.1 μg/mL FVa. ATR assay kinetics with the FXa/Va activator was comparable with that with the Ox activator in heterozygous reconstituted plasma with the recombinant wild‐type or antithrombin‐resistant prothrombin. Using ACL TOP 500, optimum conditions for the FXa/Va treatment were 10.0% phospholipids, 5 mM CaCl2, 0.02 μg/mL FXa and 0.2 μg/mL FVa. The automated ATR assay with the FXa/Va activator demonstrated good detectability for antithrombin‐resistant prothrombin in plasma from a heterozygous carrier with prothrombin Yukuhashi or Belgrade.

Conclusion

We optimised the ATR assay with the FXa/Va activator and adapted the assay for ACL TOP 500; the assay showed the ability to clearly detect antithrombin‐resistant prothrombin in manual and automated procedures.
Much ado about flu: A mixed methods study of parental perceptions, trust and information seeking in a pandemic
Authors: King Catherine L. , Chow Maria Y. K. , Wiley Kerrie E. , Leask Julie
Published: February 2018

Background

Effective public health messaging is essential in both the planning phase and duration of a pandemic.

Objectives

This study aimed to gain an understanding of parental information seeking, trusted sources and needs in relation to pandemic influenza A 2009 (pH1N1) to inform future policy planning and resource development.

Patients/Methods

We conducted a mixed methods study; parents from 16 childcare centres in Sydney, Australia, were surveyed between 16 November and 9 December 2009, and interviews were conducted with participants from six childcare centres between June 2009 and May 2011.

Results

From 972 surveys distributed, 431 were completed; a response rate of 44%. Most parents (90%) reported that doctors were “trusted a lot” as a source of influenza information, followed by nurses (59%), government (56%) and childcare centres (52%). Less trusted sources included media (7% selected “trusted a lot”), antivaccination groups (6%) and celebrities (1%). Parents identified a range of key search terms for influenza infection and vaccine. From 42 in‐depth interviews, key themes were as follows: “Action trigger,” “In an emergency, think Emergency,” “Fright to hype” and “Dr Google and beyond.” Parents relied heavily on media messages, but cynicism emerged when the pandemic was milder than expected. Parents viewed a range of information sources as trustworthy, including doctors, authoritative hospital or government websites, and childcare centres and schools.

Conclusions

A user‐centred orientation is vital for pandemic communications including tailored information provision, via trusted sources based on what parents want to know and how they can find it.
CONTINUOUS PREFERENCE ORDERINGS REPRESENTABLE BY UTILITY FUNCTIONS
Authors: Hervés‐Beloso Carlos , del Valle‐Inclán Cruces Hugo
Published: February 2018

This paper surveys the conditions under which it is possible to represent a continuous preference ordering using utility functions. We start with a historical perspective on the notions of utility and preferences, continue by defining the mathematical concepts employed in this literature, and then list several key contributions to the topic of representability. These contributions concern both the preference orderings and the spaces where they are defined. For any continuous preference ordering, we show the need for separability and the sufficiency of connectedness and separability, or second countability, of the space where it is defined. We emphasize the need for separability by showing that in any nonseparable metric space, there are continuous preference orderings without utility representation. However, by reinforcing connectedness, we show that countably boundedness of the preference ordering is a necessary and sufficient condition for the existence of a (continuous) utility representation. Finally, we discuss the special case of strictly monotonic preferences.