bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
The moderating effect of corruption on the relationship between formal institutions and entrepreneurial activity
Authors: Ghura Hasan , Harraf Arezou , Li Xiaoqing , Hamdan Allam
Published: September 2019

Purpose

Corruption has been shown to discourage entrepreneurship in both developed and developing countries. However, it is less clear to what extent corruption affects the development of institutions’ impact on entrepreneurial activity in the context of emerging economies, such as those in the post-communist countries. The purpose of this study is to use institutional economics as a conceptual framework to analyse the moderating effect of control of corruption (informal institution) on the relationship between formal institutions (such as the number of procedures, education and training [TEDU], access to finance and technology absorption) and entrepreneurial activity.

Design/methodology/approach

The study used panel data of 14 post-communist countries and different secondary databases from the years 2006-2016.

Findings

The main findings showed the importance of the institutional environment (formal and informal) on encouraging the rates of entrepreneurial activity. Overall, corruption showed that it behaves as a moderator between formal institutions and entrepreneurship. In particular, the evidence from this study showed that formal institutions, such as the number of procedures and TEDU, are more likely to encourage individual’s choice to become an entrepreneur and start a new business activity in post-communist economies that have a perception of lower levels of corruption.

Originality/value

This study has several implications from both theoretical perspectives (advancing the application of institutional economics for the study of entrepreneurship) and from the practical point of view (providing insights for governmental policies interested in fostering higher levels of entrepreneurial activity).
Exploring the development of Malaysian seaports as a hub for tourism activities
Authors: Jeevan Jagan , Othman Mohamad Rosni , Abu Hasan Zuha Rosufila , Pham Thi Quynh Mai , Park Gyei Kark
Published: September 2019

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to explore the prospects of Malaysian seaports as hubs for seaport tourism. This symbiosis nexus between seaports and tourism needs to be explored to provide a luxury economic growth. Combinations of these two segments are expected to explore a new market in Malaysian tourism industry.

Design/methodology/approach

A thorough case study consists of five major seaports in Malaysia including Penang Port, Port Klang, Port of Tanjung Pelepas, Kuantan Port, Bintulu Port and Kota Kinabalu; these seaports have been selected to reveal their opportunities for the prospect of Malaysian seaport tourism via spatial interaction model.

Findings

Four main components including cruise activities, support from intra-region and inter-region economic corridors and the seaport regionalisation can be integrated to reveal the capacity of Malaysian seaport to be hub for seaport tourism.

Originality/value

This paper incorporates tourism sector as one of the streams in the fifth-generation seaports. Seaports and tourism are two economic generators in Malaysia and infusion of these components is expected to enhance the economic prospect, diversify the function of seaports and reduce the over-dependence on conventional tourism activities.
Strategic orientations and performance of young ventures
Authors: Balodi Krishna Chandra
Published: September 2019

Purpose

Considering that entrepreneurial orientation (EO) and market orientation (MO) are antecedents of firm performance, and that technological turbulence (TT) and competitive intensity (CI) are present in different degrees in the business environment, the purpose of this paper is to address the following question in the context of young ventures: What is the contingent effect of TT and CI on MO–performance and EO–performance relationships?

Design/methodology/approach

This paper follows a deductive research approach. First, the literature on strategic orientation, opportunities, and dynamic capabilities (DCs) view are reviewed to formulate hypotheses. Then moderated hierarchical regression analysis is used on data collected from entrepreneurs/top managers of a multi-country (India and the UK) sample of young ventures.

Findings

The results of this study provide empirical evidence to the argument that both EO and MO, when looked from the universal approach, positively affect young ventures’ performance. The results show that young venture should consider environmental contingencies while choosing a strategic orientation. For resource-starved young ventures, EO is beneficial when the environment is intensely competitive, and MO is advantageous when the environment is technologically turbulent.

Originality/value

This study relies on the literature on opportunities and DCs view to arrive at hypotheses specific to young ventures. The paper empirically tests the assertions, finds support for the majority of them and reports unbiased estimates of the coefficients. It also clarifies the contrary observation made by some researchers in their study of orientation–performance relationship.
Strategic knowledge management within subsidised entrepreneurial university-industry partnerships
Authors: Guerrero Maribel , Herrera Fernando , Urbano David
Published: September 2019

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to analyse how collaborative/opportunistic behaviours within subsidised university-industry partnerships are influencing the design/implementation of strategic knowledge management practices in emerging economies.

Design/methodology/approach

The proposed conceptual model was analysed with a retrospective multiple case study approach integrated by four subsidised entrepreneurial universities-industry partnerships of the Incentive Programme for Innovation from 2009 to 2014 in Mexico.

Findings

Entrepreneurial universities and industrial organisations confirm insights about dual collaborative-opportunistic behaviour within subsidised partnerships. The main effects of behaviours represent an increment in the knowledge management costs during the monitoring stages. The ex ante collaboration agreement anticipated and protected intellectual capabilities.

Research limitations/implications

This research contributes to the ongoing discussion about public administrations’ opportunistic behaviours in emerging economies (Tripsas et al., 1995), the effectiveness of the innovation and entrepreneurial programmes (Guerrero and Urbano, 2019b), and the link between dual behaviours (collaborative and opportunistic) and knowledge management practices (de Wit-de Vries et al., 2018).

Practical implications

New questions emerged about the effectiveness of subsidies as new modes of knowledge generation among entrepreneurial universities and industrial organisations, as well as the need for implementing strategic knowledge management practices in the public administration.

Social implications

For policymakers, the study presents insights about the effectiveness of public resources. Policymakers should understand challenges and re-define/re-incentivize the productive value chain as well as implement mechanisms to control opportunistic behaviours on potential subsidised firms.

Originality/value

The paper contributes to the academic debate about how entrepreneurial universities and industrial organisations are strategically managing their knowledge when participating in subsidised partnerships in emerging economies.
Effect of rotation on wave propagation through a poroelastic wet bone with cavity
Authors: Abd-Alla A.M. , Abo-Dahab S.M. , Ateeq Roqia , Khder Moaiad A.
Published: September 2019

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the wave propagation of wave in an infinite poroelastic cylindrical bone. The dynamic behavior of a wet long bone that has been modeled as a piezoelectric hollow cylinder of crystal class 6 is investigated.

Design/methodology/approach

An exact closed form solution is presented by employing an analytical procedure. The frequency equation for poroelastic bone is obtained when the boundaries are stress free and is examined numerically.

Findings

The study of wave propagation over a continuous medium is of practical importance in the field of engineering, medicine and bio-engineering. Application of the poroelastic materials in medicinal fields such as orthopedics, dental and cardiovascular is well known. In orthopedics, wave propagation over bone is used in monitoring the rate of fracture healing. There are two types of osseous tissue, such as cancellous or trabecular and compact or cortical bone, which are of different materials, with respect to their mechanical behavior.

Originality/value

The frequencies are calculated for poroelastic bone for various values for different values of rotation, angular velocity and density. In wet bone little velocity dispersion was observed, in contrast to the results of earlier studies on wet bone. Large values of attenuation were observed. Such a model would in particular be useful in large-scale parametric studies of bone mechanical response.
Assessing sustainable housing indicators: a structural equation modeling analysis
Authors: Nasrabadi Mahla Tayefi , Hataminejad Hossein
Published: September 2019

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to propose the sustainable housing (SH) model for the housing of Region-one of Mashhad city in Iran.

Design/methodology/approach

Building the SH particularly increases mitigation measures as well as creates healthier environments for inhabitants by decreasing harmful environmental and physical effects. This research in terms of the target is applied research that has been done with the descriptive-analytical method. The research population is residents who live in the Region-one of Mashhad, with a statistical sample of 384 people. The responses were collected from the questionnaire, and structural equation modeling (SEM) was employed to illustrate the research SH model in AMOS software.

Findings

The findings indicate that the suitability of the housing model with meeting needs together with the quality of the health situation in housing has the most influences, and in contrast, the number of residential units with building permits besides the amount of home green space has the least influences on the sustainability of housing in the region.

Research limitations/implications

The results can offer valuable insights for helping the sustainability of housing in the studied area and similar cases, which may vary in a different context.

Originality/value

The new aspect of the study is to provide the SH model by SEM, which has not been investigated in almost all previous research. This paper makes a contribution to the understanding of the physical and environmental components that affect the sustainability of housing in Region-one of Mashhad city in Iran according to respond to the needs of both lifestyles: pilgrims-tourists and residents. The results can also contribute to housing stabilizing in other developing countries, especially the pilgrimage and tourism countries.
Measuring competitive impact: Joint‐species modelling of invaded plant communities
Authors: O’Reilly‐Nugent Andrew , Wandrag Elizabeth M. , Catford Jane A. , Gruber Bernd , Driscoll Don , Duncan Richard P.
Published: September 2019

Non‐native species can dominate plant communities by competitively displacing native species, or because environmental change creates conditions favourable to non‐native species but unfavourable to native species. We need to disentangle these mechanisms so that management can target competitively dominant species and reduce their impacts.

Joint‐species distribution models (JSDMs) can potentially quantify competitive impacts by simultaneously modelling how species respond to environmental variation and to changes in community composition. We describe a JSDM to model variation in plant cover and show how this can be applied to compositional data to detect dominant competitors that cause other species to decline in abundance.

We applied the model to an experiment in an invaded grassy‐woodland community in Australia where we manipulated biomass removal (through slashing and fencing to prevent grazing by kangaroos) along a fertility gradient. Non‐native species dominated plant cover at high fertility sites in the absence of biomass removal. Results from the JSDM identified three of the 72 non‐native plant species (Bromus diandrus,Acetosella vulgarisand especiallyAvena fatua) as having a strong competitive impact on the community, driving changes in composition and reducing the cover of both native and non‐native species, particularly in the absence of grazing. The dominant non‐native grassesBromus diandrusandAvena fatuawere among the tallest species in the community and had the greatest impact on shorter‐statured species, most likely through competition for light under conditions of high fertility and low grazing.

Synthesis. We demonstrate a method to measure competitive impact using a joint‐species distribution model, which allowed us to identify the species driving compositional change through competitive displacement, and where on the landscape competitive impacts were greatest. This information is central to managing plant invasions: by targeting dominant non‐native species with large competitive impacts, management can reduce impacts where they are greatest. We provide details of the modelling procedure and reproducible code to encourage further application.
Latent Print Proficiency Testing: An Examination of Test Respondents, Test‐Taking Procedures, and Test Characteristics
Authors: Gardner Brett O. , Kelley Sharon , Pan Karen D. H.
Published: September 2019

Proficiency testing is a key component of quality assurance programs within crime laboratories and can help improve laboratory practices. However, current proficiency testing procedures contain significant limitations and can be misinterpreted by examiners and court personnel (Garrett & Mitchell, 2018). To evaluate some of these limitations, we surveyed latent print examiners (n = 198) after they completed a Collaborative Testing Services, Inc. proficiency test. Additionally, we evaluated test performance and used a quality metric algorithm to evaluate the quality of test prints. Results do not suggest that respondents are dissimilar to the broader examiner population, although they may engage in different behaviors when completing tests versus casework. Findings show that proficiency testing contains prints of high quality and is perceived as both relatively easy and representative of casework. The test discriminated between inexperienced and experienced respondents, and verification procedures were largely ineffective in reducing errors. Objective quality metrics may provide a path forward to improving proficiency testing in a measurable manner.
Metatranscriptomics yields new genomic resources and sensitive detection of infections for diverse blood parasites
Authors: Galen Spencer C. , Borner Janus , Williamson Jessie L. , Witt Christopher C. , Perkins Susan L.
Published: September 2019

Metatranscriptomics is a powerful method for studying the composition and function of complex microbial communities. The application of metatranscriptomics to multispecies parasite infections is of particular interest, as research on parasite evolution and diversification has been hampered by technical challenges to genome‐scale DNA sequencing. In particular, blood parasites of vertebrates are abundant and diverse although they often occur at low infection intensities and exist as multispecies infections, rendering the isolation of genomic sequence data challenging. Here, we use birds and their diverse haemosporidian parasites to illustrate the potential for metatranscriptome sequencing to generate large quantities of genome‐wide sequence data from multiple blood parasite species simultaneously. We used RNA‐sequencing of 24 blood samples from songbirds in North America to show that metatranscriptomes can yield large proportions of haemosporidian protein‐coding gene repertoires even when infections are of low intensity (<0.1% red blood cells infected) and consist of multiple parasite taxa. By bioinformatically separating host and parasite transcripts and assigning them to the haemosporidian genus of origin, we found that transcriptomes detected ~23% more total parasite infections across all samples than were identified using microscopy and DNA barcoding. For single‐species infections, we obtained data for >1,300 loci from samples with as low as 0.03% parasitaemia, with the number of loci increasing with infection intensity. In total, we provide data for 1,502 single‐copy orthologous loci from a phylogenetically diverse set of 33 haemosporidian mitochondrial lineages. The metatranscriptomic approach described here has the potential to accelerate ecological and evolutionary research on haemosporidians and other diverse parasites.
Information control in the hold‐up problem
Authors: Nguyen Anh , Tan Teck Yong
Published: September 2019

We study the use of information control to mitigate hold‐up risks. We identify a distinction between asymmetric information that creates an ex ante investment incentive and asymmetric information that causes ex post inefficiency, which then allows ex post inefficiency to be eliminated without compromising the ex ante investment incentive. We characterize the properties of the optimal information structure and the payoffs and welfare achievable with information control in the presence of hold‐up risks.
Measuring Efficiency of the New Zealand District Health Boards: An Empirical Research Using Two‐Stage Data Envelopment Analysis
Authors: Thai Quoc Khanh , Noguchi Masayoshi
Published: September 2019

Health care is one of the core public services in New Zealand and consumes the second largest share of government expenditure. It is thus important to monitor the technical efficiency of the health services. We employ a two‐stage Data Envelopment Analysis of New Zealand District Health Boards (DHBs) data over the period from 2013/2014 to 2016/2017 and found that DHBs generally improved their technical efficiency during this time. Our results suggest that further improvements to efficiency might be possible through greater attention to budget preparation, improvements to building asset utilisation and optimisation of patient flow at emergency departments.
Changes in Alcohol Intake During Pregnancy in Spain, 1980 to 2014
Authors: Romero‐Rodríguez Esperanza , Cuevas Lourdes , Simón Lorena ,   ECEMC Peripheral Group, Bermejo‐Sánchez Eva , Galán Iñaki
Published: September 2019

Background

Even small amounts of alcohol consumed during pregnancy can have adverse effects on the embryo and the fetus. We estimated how alcohol intake among pregnant women in Spain changed between 1980 and 2014, and identified factors associated with alcohol use.

Methods

Data came from the Spanish Collaborative Study of Congenital Malformations (ECEMC). The sample includes ECEMC′s control mothers, 40,268 pregnant women from all regions of Spain. We classified alcohol consumption during pregnancy into 3 categories: no consumption; sporadic consumption of small amounts of alcohol; and regular consumption, or sporadic but in large quantities including drunkenness. Independent variables included sociodemographic factors, planned/unplanned pregnancy, maternal chronic diseases, gestational diabetes, and tobacco and illegal drug use during pregnancy. Trend analyses were performed using data from 1980 to 2014. The multinomial logistic regression models designed to identify associated factors differentiated between 2 periods: 1994 to 2004 and 2005 to 2014.

Results

Prevalence of alcohol consumption declined from 29.6% (95% CI: 27.1 to 32.2) in 1980 to 5.4% (95% CI: 3.7 to 7.6) in 2014, mostly due to the reduction in regular intake. This decline was especially acute between 1980 and 1994. Sporadic and regular consumption increased among women working outside the home, born outside Spain, those whose pregnancy was unplanned, and those reporting using tobacco or other drugs. Comparing 1994 to 2004 versus 2005 to 2014, a stronger association was observed between regular alcohol consumption and tobacco consumption in the latter period (interaction p = 0.003).

Conclusions

Alcohol consumption among expectant mothers has declined substantially in the last 35 years. However, it is worth highlighting the significant and substantial associations between alcohol use and consumption of tobacco, which have become stronger in the most recent years.
Inter Individual Variation and Factors Regulating the Formation of Phosphatidylethanol
Authors: Stenton Joanna , Walther Lisa , Hansson Therese , Andersson Anders , Isaksson Anders
Published: September 2019

Background

Alcohol use disorders are a major but often unrecognized health problem. Alcohol markers can therefore be of great value for diagnosis, follow‐up, and treatment evaluation. Phosphatidylethanol in blood (B‐PEth) is an alcohol biomarker with higher clinical sensitivity and specificity than commonly used alcohol markers but has shown a considerable interindividual variation in relation to reported consumption.

Methods

An in vitro system was used to investigate factors, which may affect the formation rate of PEth or which may give rise to interindividual variation in the rate of formation. In this system, isolated erythrocytes from 31 individuals were incubated in the presence of various concentrations of ethanol (EtOH). The concentration of PEth and phosphatidylcholine (PC), the parent molecule of PEth, was determined by chromatographic methods.

Results

Time, EtOH, and PC concentration were major factors determining the amount of PEth formed. The interindividual variation in PEth formation rate, calculated at an EtOH concentration of 50 mmol/l, showed a coefficient of variation (CV) from 23 to 31% for the different PEth forms studied (PEth 16:0/18:2, total PEth and PEth 16:0/18:1). The concentration of PC was found to be an important determinant of this variation. The formation rate for PEth 16:0/18:2 was somewhat higher than for PEth 16:0/18:1. The formation of PEth 16:0/18:1 but not PEth 16:0/18:2 showed a positive correlation to the concentration of PEth at baseline (endogenous PEth). Calculation of enzyme kinetics for the reaction resulting in the formation of PEth 16:0/18:1 or PEth 16:0/18:2 showed an apparent Km (Michaelis constant) of approximately 160 to 170 mmol/l.

Conclusions

Interindividual variation in the formation rate of PEth appears to be a significant but relatively modest source of variation in the relation between B‐PEth and reported consumption. Correction for interindividual variation in PC concentrations might substantially reduce the interindividual variability in PEth formation and consequently in B‐PEth.
Valuing families' preferences for drug treatment: a discrete choice experiment
Authors: Shanahan Marian , Seddon Jennifer , Ritter Alison , De Abreu Lourenco Richard
Published: September 2019

Background and Aims

The burden on family members of those who are dependent on illicit drugs is largely unidentified, despite the presence of significant negative financial, health and social impacts. This makes it difficult to provide appropriate services and support. This study aimed to assess the preferences for treatment attributes for heroin dependence among family members affected by the drug use of a relative and to obtain a measure of the intangible economic benefit.

Design

Discrete choice experiment. Data were analysed using mixed logit which accounted for repeated responses.

Setting

Australia.

Participants

Eligible participants were Australian residents aged 18+ years with a relative with problematic drug use. Complete data on 237 respondents were analysed; 21 invalid responses were deleted.

Measurements

Participant preference for likelihood of staying in treatment, family conflict, own health status, contact with police and monetary contribution to a charitable organization providing treatment.

Findings

All attributes were significant, and the results suggest that there was a preference for longer time in treatment, less family discord, better own health status, less likelihood of their relative encountering police and, while they were willing to contribute to a charity for treatment to be available, they prefer to pay less, not more. In order of relative importance, participants were willing to pay an additional A$4.46 [95% confidence interval (CI) = 3.33–5.60] for treatment which resulted in an additional 1% of heroin users staying in treatment for longer than 3 months, A$42.00 (95% CI = 28.30–55.69) to avoid 5 days per week of family discord, A$87.94 (95% CI = 64.41–111.48) for treatment options that led to an improvement in their own health status and A$129.66 (95% CI = 53.50–205.87) for each 1% decline in the chance of police contact.

Conclusions

Drug treatment in Australia appears to have intangible benefits for affected family members. Families are willing to pay for treatment which reduces family discord, improves their own health, increases time in treatment and reduces contact with police.
Analysis of genetic variation contributing to measured speed in Thoroughbreds identifies genomic regions involved in the transcriptional response to exercise
Authors: Farries G. , Gough K. F. , Parnell A. C. , McGivney B. A. , McGivney C. L. , McGettigan P. A. , MacHugh D. E. , Katz L. M. , Hill E. W.
Published: September 2019

Despite strong selection for athletic traits in Thoroughbred horses, there is marked variation in speed and aptitude for racing performance within the breed. Using global positioning system monitoring during exercise training, we measured speed variables and temporal changes in speed with age to derive phenotypes forGWAS. The aim of the study was to test the hypothesis that genetic variation contributes to variation in end‐point physiological traits, in this case galloping speed measured during field exercise tests. Standardisation of field‐measured phenotypes was attempted by assessing horses exercised on the same gallop track and managed under similar conditions by a single trainer. PCA of six key speed indices captured 73.9% of the variation with principal component 1 (PC1). Verifying the utility of the phenotype, we observed thatPC1 (median) in 2‐year‐old horses was significantly different among elite, non‐elite and unraced horses (P < 0.001) and the temporal change with age inPC1 varied among horses with differentmyostatin(MSTN) g.66493737C>TSNPgenotypes. AGWASforPC1 in 2‐year‐old horses (n = 122) identified fourSNPs reaching the suggestive threshold for association (P < 4.80 × 10−5), defining a 1.09 Mb candidate region on ECA8 containing themyosin XVIIIB(MYO18B) gene. In aGWASfor temporal change inPC1 with age (n = 168), fiveSNPs reached the suggestive threshold for association and defined candidate regions on ECA2 and ECA11. Both regions contained genes that are significantly differentially expressed in equine skeletal muscle in response to acute exercise and training stimuli, includingMYO18A. AsMYO18Aplays a regulatory role in the skeletal muscle response to exercise, the identified genomic variation proximal to the myosin family genes may be important for the regulation of the response to exercise and training.
Aware and tuned to care: Children with better distress recognition and higher sympathy anticipate more guilt after harming others
Authors: Colasante Tyler , Gao Xiaoqing , Malti Tina
Published: September 2019

Helping children recognize the distress of their victims and feel sympathy may facilitate the optimal socialization of ethical guilt. With a sample of 150 eight‐year‐olds, we tested the main and interactive relations of distress recognition and sympathy to ethical guilt after hypothetically stealing and pushing. Better fear recognition and higher sympathy were uniquely associated with higher ethical guilt. The link between fear recognition and ethical guilt was stronger in children with higher sympathy. Beyond their unique contributions, distress recognition and sympathy may work in concert to facilitate ethical guilt after harming others.

Statement of contribution

What is already known on this subject

Children are thought to express more guilt if they recognize their victims’ distress and feel sympathy for them.

However, there is little evidence for the direct roles of distress recognition and sympathy in children's guilt, and none for their joint contribution.

What the present study adds

The link between fear recognition and guilt was stronger in children with higher sympathy. Sympathy may help children harness and translate the awareness afforded by distress recognition into feelings of accountability and regret.

This study was the first to clarify the main and additive roles of sympathy and distress recognition in children's anticipation of guilt after harming others.

Promoting distress recognition and sympathy may represent a viable two‐step approach to inducing guilt in children after they violate others’ welfare.
Antenatal screening for haemoglobinopathies: current status, barriers and ethics
Authors: Chakravorty Subarna , Dick Moira C
Published: September 2019

Sickle cell disease (SCD) and thalassaemia are genetic disorders that are caused by errors in the genes for haemoglobin and are some of the most common significant genetic disorders in the world, resulting in significant morbidity and mortality. Great disparities exist in the outcome of these conditions between resource‐ rich and resource‐poor nations. Antenatal screening for these disorders aims to provide couples with information about their reproductive risk and enable them to make informed reproductive choices; ultimately reducing the likelihood of children being born with these conditions. This review provides an overview of the current status of antenatal, pre‐marital and population screening of SCD and thalassaemia in countries with both high‐and low prevalence of these conditions, methods of screening in use, and discusses some of the pitfalls, ethical issues and controversies surrounding antenatal screening. It also discusses outcomes of some screening programmes and recognises the need for the establishment of antenatal screening in areas where their prevalence is highest; namely sub‐Saharan Africa and India.
Variable indoleamine 2,3‐dioxygenase expression in acral/mucosal melanoma and its possible link to immunotherapy
Authors: Iga Natsuko , Otsuka Atsushi , Hirata Masahiro , Kataoka Tatsuki R. , Irie Hiroyuki , Nakashima Chisa , Matsushita Shigeto , Uchi Hiroshi , Yamamoto Yuki , Funakoshi Takeru , Fujisawa Yasuhiro , Yoshino Koji , Fujimura Taku , Hata Hiroo , Ishida Yoshihiro , Kabashima Kenji
Published: September 2019

Immune checkpoint inhibitors have improved the prognosis of advanced melanoma. Although anti–programmed death ligand‐1 (PD‐L1) is a well‐studied biomarker for response to anti–programmed death‐1 PD‐1 therapy in melanoma, its clinical relevance remains unclear. It has been established that the high expression of indoleamine 2,3‐dioxygenase (IDO) is correlated to a response to anti–CTLA‐4 treatment in melanoma. However, it is still unknown whether the IDO expression is associated with response to anti–PD‐1 therapy in advanced melanoma. In addition, acral and mucosal melanomas, which comprise a great proportion of all melanomas in Asians, are genetically different subtypes from cutaneous melanomas; however, they have not been independently analyzed due to their low frequency in Western countries. To evaluate the association of IDO and PD‐L1 expression with response to anti–PD‐1 antibody in acral and mucosal melanoma patients, we analyzed 32 Japanese patients with acral and mucosal melanomas treated with anti–PD‐1 antibody from the perspective of IDO and PD‐L1 expression levels by immunohistochemistry (IHC). Multivariate Cox regression models showed that the low expression of IDO in tumors was associated with poor progression‐free survival (HR = 0.33, 95% CI = 0.13‐0.81, P = 0.016), whereas PD‐L1 expression on tumors was not associated with progression‐free survival. Significantly lower expression of IDO in tumors was found in non–responders compared to responders. Assessment of the IDO expression could be useful for the identification of suitable candidates for anti–PD‐1 therapy among acral and mucosal melanomas patients. Further validation study is needed to estimate the clinical utility of our findings.
The influence of treatment in alpine and moderate maritime climate on the composition of the skin microbiome in patients with difficult to treat atopic dermatitis
Authors: van Mierlo Minke M.F. , Totté Joan E.E. , Fieten Karin B. , van den Broek Tim J. , Schuren Frank H.J. , Pardo Luba M. , Pasmans Suzanne G.M.A.
Published: September 2019

Background

The skin microbiome, characterized by an overgrowth ofStaphylococcus aureus, plays an important role in the pathogenesis of atopic dermatitis (AD). Multidisciplinary treatment in alpine climate is known for its positive effect on disease severity in children with AD and can result in a different immune response compared with moderate maritime climate. However, the effect on the composition of the skin microbiome in AD is unknown.

Objective

To determine the effect of treatment in alpine climate and moderate maritime climate on the microbiome for lesional and non‐lesional skin in children with difficult to treat AD.

Results

Alpine climate treatment led to a significant change in the microbiota on lesional skin, whereas no significant change was found after moderate maritime climate. On both lesional and non‐lesional skin, we observed a significant increase in Shannon diversity and a significant decrease in bothStaphylococcusabundance andS aureusload after alpine climate treatment. The decrease inS aureuswas significantly larger on lesional skin following alpine climate treatment compared with moderate maritime climate treatment.Staphylococcus epidermidisload was stable over time.

Conclusions and clinical relevance

Alpine climate treatment leads to significant changes in the composition of the skin microbiome in children with AD, mainly caused by a reduction in theStaphylococcusgenus. This study shows new perspectives in the potential mode of action for therapies in AD.
SOCIAL CHANGES IN IMPRESSIONABLE YEARS AND ADULT POLITICAL ATTITUDES: EVIDENCE FROM JEWISH EXPULSIONS IN NAZI GERMANY
Authors: Akbulut‐Yuksel Mevlude , Okoye Dozie , Yuksel Mutlu
Published: September 2019

This study provides evidence that individuals who grew up during the 1930's Jewish expulsions are less likely to show interest and participate in politics. The estimates imply that, at the mean, individuals in their impressionable ages at the time of the expulsions are about 13% less likely to be interested in politics and 26% less likely to participate in politics. These results are not found for individuals who were older at the time of the expulsions nor for those growing up during world War (WWII). Results are robust to fixed region and birth‐year characteristics, various definitions of impressionable ages, and composition bias induced by differential migration and mortality rates across regions and cohorts. The estimates are also not driven by other regional differences in 1930's political participation, party support, Catholic share, exposure and destruction during WWII, urbanization, and other regional characteristics. We provide evidence that the adverse effects on political attitudes we find are explained by a model of political participation emphasizing the role of civic skills and socioeconomic status acquired at younger ages. Exposure to the expulsions when young is associated with lower adult volunteerism, trust, church attendance, and socioeconomic status. (JELO12, D72, D74, J15)
Developmental bias, macroevolution, and the fossil record
Authors: Jablonski David
Published: September 2019

A fuller understanding of the role of developmental bias in shaping large‐scale evolutionary patterns requires integrating bias (the probability distribution of variation accessible to an ancestral phenotype) with clade dynamics (the differential survival and production of species and evolutionary lineages). This synthesis could proceed as a two‐way exchange between the developmental data available to neontologists and the strictly phenotypic but richly historical and dynamic data available to paleontologists. Analyses starting in extant populations could aim to predict macroevolution in the fossil record from observed developmental bias, while analyses starting in the fossil record, particularly the record of extant species and lineages, could aim to predict developmental bias from macroevolutionary patterns, including the broad range of extinct phenotypes. Analyses in multivariate morphospaces are especially effective when coupled with phylogeny, theoretical and developmental models, and diversity–disparity plots. This research program will also require assessing the “heritability” of an ancestral bias across phylogeny, and the tendency for bias change in strength and orientation over evolutionary time. Such analyses will help find a set of general rules for the macroevolutionary effects of developmental bias, including its impact on and interactions with the other intrinsic and extrinsic factors governing the movement, expansion, and contraction of clades in morphospace.
Developmental structuring of phenotypic variation: A case study with a cellular automata model of ontogeny
Authors: Hordijk Wim , Altenberg Lee
Published: September 2019

Developmental mechanisms not only produce an organismal phenotype, but they also structure the way genetic variation maps to phenotypic variation. Here, we revisit a computational model for the evolution of ontogeny based on cellular automata, in which evolution regularly discovered two alternative mechanisms for achieving a selected phenotype, one showing high modularity, the other showing morphological integration. We measure a primary variational property of the systems, their distribution of fitness effects of mutation. We find that the modular ontogeny shows the evolution of mutational robustness and ontogenic simplification, while the integrated ontogeny does not. We discuss the wider use of this methodology on other computational models of development as well as real organisms.
TRUTH AND MEANING IN HISTORICAL INTERPRETATION: A DAVIDSONIAN APPROACH
Authors: PEDEN KNOX
Published: September 2019

This essay argues that Donald Davidson's work in philosophy sheds light on debates about truth, meaning, and context in historical interpretation. Drawing on distinctions between Davidson's project and that of his mentor, W. V. O. Quine, I aim to show that certain ambiguities that have arisen in the methodological reflections of Quentin Skinner and Frank Ankersmit, to take representatives of contrastive approaches to intellectual history, are clarified once we reckon with Davidson's ideas. This discussion leads to a case for the broader pertinence of Davidson's work to historical writing, which insists that his focus on the centrality of truth to disagreement bears salutary consequences for thinking about what constitutes compelling historical scholarship.
APHASIA, HISTORY, AND DURESS
Authors: Hunt Nancy Rose
Published: September 2019

This essay celebrates the publication of Duress, explores its concepts and themes, focuses on the way Ann Stoler rejects the notion of historical forgetting and develops a heuristic of “colonial aphasia” in an ethnographic chapter on the emergence of France's Far Right near Marseille in the 1990s. The essay also tracks how postcolonial scholars are using the notion of aphasia, drawing on Stoler's colonial usages in contexts like the Netherlands and Britain as well as using the notion to periodize. Those who came to aphasia before and without Stoler are also present here, and their contributions suggest a range of ways to think through radical, countercultural, and philosophical thought. That Gilles Deleuze and Paolo Virno use aphasia in contrary ways suggests that once aphasia departs from clinical settings, its poetics are rather up for grabs even if contained within activist gestures; both rethink matters of politics, dissent, and language. The example of Kurt Goldstein is also imported to show that clinical aphasia may go with the “detours” of patients, those stricken by war, catastrophe, and these peculiar speech disorders. That “detour” is also a Deleuzian word opens wide a “minor” register to history, speech, and forms of oppression. The semantic spectrum for aphasia in histories of politics and language is wide, from Stoler's colonial version that applies most to the privileged, to Deleuze's poetic transpositions that propose aphasia as an accomplishment, a rebellious refusal of communication. Aphasia has much promise as a historical category in and outside of colonial forms of duress.
Sex‐specific association of plasma nesfatin‐1 concentrations with obesity in children
Authors: de Dios Olaya , Herrero Leticia , Gavela‐Pérez Teresa , Soriano‐Guillén Leandro , Garcés Carmen
Published: September 2019

Background

Nesfatin‐1, an anorexigenic peptide, has been associated with food intake and thermogenesis, with discordant findings in humans and scarce studies in children to date.

Objectives

The aim of this study was to analyze the relationship of obesity with nesfatin‐1 levels in two cohorts of children.

Methods

Plasma nesfatin‐1 concentrations were analyzed in 6‐ to 9‐year‐olds (n = 140) and 12‐ to 16‐year‐old children (n = 96), including children with obesity and their sex‐ and age‐matched normal‐weight counterparts. Anthropometric measurements were assessed. Cholesterol and triglycerides were determined enzymatically, insulin concentrations were measured by radioimmunoassay using a commercial kit and nesfatin‐1, leptin and hs‐CRP concentrations were determined using commercial ELISA kits.

Results

Nesfatin‐1 concentrations were significantly lower in younger (P = .001) and older (P = .009) girls with obesity than in their normal‐weight counterparts, without showing significant differences in boys. Nesfatin‐1 showed a negative significant (P < .010) correlation with weight and BMI in girls but not in boys. A significant positive correlation of nesfatin‐1 levels with insulin, HOMA, and leptin levels appears in girls after adjusting by age and BMI. A significant positive correlation (P = .003) was observed between nesfatin‐1 and fat mass in older children.

Conclusions

Our study shows lower concentrations of nesfatin‐1 related to obesity in girls but not in boys at two different ages. The existence of a sex‐specific association between nesfatin‐1 concentrations and presence of obesity highlights the need of an analysis by gender of the relationship of nesfatin‐1 with obesity.
Efficacy and safety of the cryoballoon‐based atrial fibrillation ablation in patients aged ≥80 years
Authors: Kanda Takashi , Masuda Masaharu , Kurata Naoya , Asai Mitsutoshi , Iida Osamu , Okamoto Shin , Ishihara Takayuki , Nanto Kiyonori , Tsujimura Takuya , Okuno Shota , Matsuda Yasuhiro , Hata Yosuke , Mano Toshiaki
Published: September 2019

Introduction

The prevalence of atrial fibrillation (AF) increases with age. Although the efficacy of cryoballoon ablation (CB‐A) in patients with AF has been demonstrated, data on the efficacy of this CB‐A in elderly patients are limited. The aim of this study was to evaluate the 1‐year efficacy and safety of CB‐A in patients aged ≥80 years compared with those less than 80 years.

Methods

A total of 49 consecutive patients ≥80 years with paroxysmal AF (PAF) who underwent CB‐A were compared with 241 patients aged <80 years. AF‐free survival rate at 1 year and procedural data were compared between the groups.

Results

Median (25th, 75th quartile) age was 83 (82, 85) years in the older group and 68 (61, 73) years in the younger group. At 1‐year follow‐up, the success rate did not significantly differ between the groups. In Cox regression analysis, age ≥80 years was not significantly related to AF recurrence. Low‐voltage areas were more frequently observed in the elderly group than the control group (39% vs 17%; P = .01). Fluoroscopy time and procedure time did not differ significantly. There was no significant difference in the occurrence rate of transient phrenic nerve palsy. No severe complications occurred in either group, including procedure‐related deaths, atrioesophageal fistula, cardiac tamponade, and cerebrovascular embolic events.

Conclusion

The results of our study showed that CB‐A for PAF is a feasible and safe procedure even in elderly patients, with similar success and complication rates when compared with a younger population.
Data‐driven identification of subtypes of executive function across typical development, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, and autism spectrum disorders
Authors: Vaidya Chandan J. , You Xiaozhen , Mostofsky Stewart , Pereira Francisco , Berl Madison M. , Kenworthy Lauren
Published: September 2019

Background

Impairment of executive function (EF), the goal‐directed regulation of thoughts, actions, and emotions, drives negative outcomes and is common across neurodevelopmental disorders including attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and autism spectrum disorder (ASD). A primary challenge to its amelioration is heterogeneity in symptom expression within and across disorders. Parsing this heterogeneity is necessary to attain diagnostic precision, a goal of the NIMH Research Domain Criteria Initiative. We aimed to identify transdiagnostic subtypes of EF that span the normal to impaired spectrum and establish their predictive and neurobiological validity.

Methods

Community detection was applied to clinical parent‐report measures in 8–14‐year‐old children with and without ADHD and ASD from two independent cohorts (discovery N = 320; replication N = 692) to identify subgroups with distinct behavioral profiles. Support vector machine (SVM) classification was used to predict subgroup membership of unseen cases. Preliminary neurobiological validation was obtained with existing functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) data on a subsample (N = 84) by testing hypotheses about sensitivity of EF subgroups versus DSM categories.

Results

We observed three transdiagnostic EF subtypes characterized by behavioral profiles that were defined by relative weakness in: (a) flexibility and emotion regulation; (b) inhibition; and (c) working memory, organization, and planning. The same tripartite structure was also present in the typically developing children. SVM trained on the discovery sample and tested on the replication sample classified subgroup membership with 77.0% accuracy. Split‐half SVM classification on the combined sample (N = 1,012) yielded 88.9% accuracy (this SVM is available for public use). As hypothesized, frontal‐parietal engagement was better distinguished by EF subtype than DSM diagnosis and the subgroup characterized with inflexibility failed to modulate right IPL activation in response to increased executive demands.

Conclusions

The observed transdiagnostic subtypes refine current diagnostic nosology and augment clinical decision‐making for personalizing treatment of executive dysfunction in children.