bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Evolving banking market structure in Oman: should CBO approve the mergers?
Authors: Al-Muharrami Saeed
Published: June 2019

Purpose

In 2013-2014, Bank Muscat and National Bank of Oman requested a merger and Bank Sohar and Bank Dhofar lodged a similar request. This paper aims to investigate the shape of the market structure, and it tries to answer whether approving such requests is good for the industry, economy and society.

Design/methodology/approach

The study examines the market structure of Oman Banking Industry, and it also presents the shape of the market structure if there had been an approval for these mergers’ requests. The Herfindahl–Hirschman Index (HHI) and the biggest k-banks Concentration Ratio (CRk), which measure concentration changes over 17 years during the period 1998-2014, are used in this study.

Findings

The study finds that Oman’s Banking Industry is highly concentrated, which should cause concerns over these two requests of mergers or similar requests in the future. In general, the concentration ratio shows decreasing trend. The concentration ratio in the deposit market implies a concentrated market with CR2 and CR3 recording 67 and 85%, respectively, while HHI reached 2,864 points in the 1998. However, in 2014, the concentration ratio had decreased, to CR2 and CR3 recording 52 and 65% respectively, and HHI standing at 2,112 points.

Research limitations/implications

The researcher suggests future investigation and further research in setting a benchmark index as a guideline for mergers’ requests.

Practical implications

Exercising monopoly power, by fewer banks, is very harmful to the economy. Charging higher interest rates on business loans escalates the cost of production of products and services which will cause inflation; therefore, monopoly power will lead to slow growth of the economy.

Social implications

Regulators in Central Bank of Oman (CBO) or in any central bank should be very careful in granting mergers, especially among big banks, because it enables newly bigger banks to exercise monopoly power, thereby harming depositors who will be getting low deposit interest rates and harming borrowers by charging them high loan interest rate.

Originality/value

Even though, this study discussed two requests of mergers between banks in Oman; however, it has presented formal approaches to the measurement of market structure in any country. Overall, it provides the policymakers in making the final decisions on mergers between banks in the future which are not limited to these banks or to Oman’s Banking Industry.
Empowerment through participation in local governance: the case of Union Parishad in Bangladesh
Authors: Uddin Nasir
Published: June 2019

Purpose

The traditional concept of people’s participation through their representatives is changing to the mechanism of direct participation of community people in the local governing process. In coupling with these, the Constitution of Bangladesh and the local government acts guarantee to foster the direct participation of people in the formation of local bodies and development programs. The purpose of this paper is to explore the avenues of people’s participation in local government, particularly the Union Parishad (UP) in Bangladesh, and to evaluate the empowerment of marginalized community through those avenues.

Design/methodology/approach

Using a broad descriptive and analytical approach, this paper evaluates the relationship between participation and empowerment of local community based on the review of secondary sources of information.

Findings

The local government institutions, particularly UP, has existed many mechanisms through which people participate in decision-making process. It is also believed that participation of community people in local government institutions is not only an opportunity for them but also an apparatus of empowerment. Hence, the process of empowerment is entrenched in the notion of participation. It is evident that the people at grass root level have been participating in UP in diverse arrangements, but the effectiveness of these participations in terms of empowerment is still meager and even lack.

Originality/value

Though a long time has passed after introducing these participatory mechanisms, very few studies have undertaken to assess the people’s participation in local government. Additionally, no single initiative was undertaken to assess how empowerment of marginalized people happened through these initiatives as empowering community people is the key objective of it.
Elucidating investors rationality and behavioural biases in Indian stock market
Authors: Mushinada Venkata Narasimha Chary , Veluri Venkata Subrahmanya Sarma
Published: June 2019

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to empirically test the relationship between investors’ rationality and behavioural biases like self-attribution, overconfidence.

Design/methodology/approach

The study applies structural equation modelling to understand whether individual investors, besides being rational, are subjected to self-attribution bias and overconfidence bias.

Findings

The study shows the empirical evidence in the support of behavioural biases like self-attribution and overconfidence existing besides investors’ rationality. Moreover, there is a statistically significant positive covariance found between self-attribution and overconfidence, implying that an increase/decrease in self-attribution results in the increase/decrease in overconfidence and vice versa. It is also observed that the personal characteristics of an investor such as gender, age, occupation, annual income and their trading experience have an impact on behavioural biases.

Research limitations/implications

The study focused on rational decision making, self-attribution and overconfidence biases using primary data. Further studies can be encouraged to test the existence of behavioural biases based on both market level and individual account data simultaneously.

Practical implications

Insights from the study suggest that the investors should perform a post-analysis of each investment, so that they become aware of past behavioural mistakes and stop continuing the same. This might help investors to minimise the negative impact of self-attribution and overconfidence on their expected utility.

Originality/value

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study to examine the relationship among investors’ rationality, self-attribution and overconfidence in the Indian context using a comprehensive survey.
Ascitic IL‐10 Concentration Predicts Prognosis of Patients Undergoing Cell‐Free and Concentrated Ascites Reinfusion Therapy
Authors: Ito Tetsuya , Hanafusa Norio , Iwase Satoru , Noiri Eisei , Nangaku Masaomi , Nakagawa Keiichi , Miyagawa Kiyoshi
Published: June 2019

Cell‐free and concentrated ascites reinfusion therapy (CART) is now attracting rising attention as one of the strategies against cancer‐related malignant ascites in Japan. Several studies report the safety, effectiveness, and complications of CART applied to patients with malignancies. However, its mechanism reflecting these effects still remains unclear. We evaluated concentration of inflammatory cytokines including interleukin (IL)‐1β, IL‐6, IL‐8, IL‐12, tumor necrosis factor (TNF)‐α, and immunosuppressive cytokine IL‐10 in ascites before CART procedures. We investigated their impacts on survival. IL‐1β, IL‐6, IL‐8, TNF‐α, and IL‐10 were detected in ascites of the patients undergoing CART. Significant body temperature elevation, one potential complication of CART, was observed among the patients although it was not clinically important. There were no significant correlations between changes in body temperature and the concentration of IL‐6, IL‐8, and IL‐10. The presence of IL‐10 in ascites significantly related to longer survival after the first session of CART procedures. However, we observed no other clinically important correlation between cytokine concentrations and changes in WBC and CRP. Concentration of inflammatory cytokines in ascites did not relate to body temperature change, the chief complication of CART. Surprisingly, the presence of IL‐10 in ascites related to longer survival after CART. Immunological environment of cancer‐related ascites may reflect the outcome of CART and improve survival in those with malignancy.
Two‐Stage Agricultural Ditch Sediments Act as Phosphorus Sinks in West Michigan
Authors: Kindervater Emily , Steinman Alan D.
Published: June 2019

Phosphorus (P) and sediment inputs from agricultural drainage contribute to the development of hypereutrophic conditions in lakes across the world. Two‐stage (2‐S) ditches, an agricultural best management practice gaining acceptance in the Midwestern United States, increase floodplain area within drainage ditches to help capture nutrients and sediment. While denitrification has been shown to increase on 2‐S benches, less is known about their P retention ability. This study assessed the abiotic and biotic P retention of two separate 2‐S ditches compared to their corresponding traditional reaches directly upstream within the Macatawa watershed, located in West Michigan. Soluble reactive P export was significantly reduced in 2‐S baseflow of both ditch systems. Equilibrium P concentration values suggest retention of P within the 2‐S sediment. P was bound within stable fractions in both 2‐S and traditional reaches. An analysis of P stock within the ditches revealed sediment held over 96% of total P (TP) within each reach compared to <4% in bench vegetation and periphyton combined. Turbidity, but not TP, was reduced in one study ditch, whereas TP, but not turbidity, was reduced in the other study ditch. Geomorphic stability may have been responsible for differing P retention between ditches. Ability to retain P appears to be impacted by physical as well as biogeochemical characteristics; hence, structure and age of 2‐S reaches influence P retention.
Uptake of endoscopic screening for gastroesophageal varices and factors associated with variceal bleeding in patients with chronic hepatitis C infection and compensated cirrhosis, 2005‐2016: a national database linkage study
Authors: McDonald Scott A. , Barclay Stephen T. , Hutchinson Sharon J. , Stanley Adrian J. , Fraser Andrew , Dillon John F. , Innes Hamish A. , Peters Erica , Kennedy Nicholas , Bathgate Andrew , Bramley Peter , Morris Judith , Goldberg David J. , Hayes Peter C.
Published: June 2019

Background

Primary measures for preventing morbidity and mortality associated with bleeding gastroesophageal varices in cirrhotic patients include endoscopic screening.

Aim

To identify factors associated with (a) screening and (b) first hospital admission for variceal bleeding among cirrhotic hepatitis C virus (HCV) patients attending specialist care in Scotland.

Methods

The Scottish Hepatitis C Clinical Database was linked to national hospitalisation and deaths records to identify all chronic HCV patients diagnosed with compensated cirrhosis in 2005‐2016 (n = 2741). The adjusted odds of being screened by calendar year period were estimated using logistic regression, and the adjusted hazard ratio (HR) of a first variceal bleed using Cox regression.

Results

About 34% were screened within the period starting 12 months before and ending 12 months after cirrhosis diagnosis. The proportion screened was stable in 2005‐2010 at 42%, declining to 37% in 2011‐2013 and 26% in 2014‐2016. Odds of screening were decreased for age‐groups <40 (OR = 0.61, 95% CI: 0.48‐0.77) and 60+ years (OR = 0.67, 95% CI: 0.48‐0.94), history of antiviral therapy (OR = 0.70, 95% CI: 0.55‐0.89), and cirrhosis diagnosis in 2014‐2015, compared with 2008‐2010 (OR = 0.67, 95% CI: 0.52‐0.86). Compared with 2008‐2010, there was no evidence for an increased/decreased relative risk of a first variceal bleed in any other period, but viral clearance was associated with a lower risk (HR = 0.56, 95% CI: 0.32‐0.97).

Conclusions

Overall screening uptake following cirrhosis diagnosis was low, and the decline in recent years is of concern. The stable bleeding risk over time may be attributable both to ongoing prevention initiatives and to changing diagnostic procedures creating a patient pool with milder disease in more recent years.
Legacies of more frequent drought in ponderosa pine across the western United States
Authors: Peltier Drew M. P. , Ogle Kiona
Published: June 2019

Despite widespread interest in drought legacies—multiyear impacts of drought on tree growth—the key implication of reported drought legacies remains unaddressed: as impaired growth and slow recovery associated with drought legacies are pervasive across forest ecosystems, what is the impact of more frequent drought conditions? We investigated the assumption that either multiple drought years occurring during a short period (multiyear droughts), or droughts occurring during the recovery period from previous drought (compounded droughts), are detrimental to subsequent growth. There is evidence that drought responses may vary among populations of widespread species, leading us to examine regional differences in responses of the conifer Pinus ponderosa to historic drought frequency in the western United States. More frequent drought conditions incurred additional growth declines and shifts in growth–climate sensitivities in the years following drought relative to single‐drought events, with ‘triple‐droughts' being worse than ‘double‐droughts'. Notably, prediction skill was not strongly reduced when ignoring compounded droughts, a consequence of the temporally comprehensive formulation of our stochastic antecedent model that accounts for the climatic memory of tree growth. We argue that incorporating drought‐induced temporal variability in tree growth sensitivities can aid inference gained from statistical models, where more simplistic models could overestimate the severity of drought legacies. We also found regional differences in response to repeated drought, and suggest plastic post‐drought sensitivities and climatic memory may represent beneficial physiological adjustments in interior regions. Within‐species variability may thus mediate forest responses to increasing drought frequency under future climate change, but experimental approaches using more species are necessary to improve our understanding of the mechanisms that underlie drought legacy effects on tree growth.
Modeling Partial Knowledge on Multiple‐Choice Items Using Elimination Testing
Authors: Wu Qian , De Laet Tinne , Janssen Rianne
Published: June 2019

Single‐best answers to multiple‐choice items are commonly dichotomized into correct and incorrect responses, and modeled using either a dichotomous item response theory (IRT) model or a polytomous one if differences among all response options are to be retained. The current study presents an alternative IRT‐based modeling approach to multiple‐choice items administered with the procedure of elimination testing, which asks test‐takers to eliminate all the response options they consider to be incorrect. The partial credit model is derived for the obtained responses. By extracting more information pertaining to test‐takers’ partial knowledge on the items, the proposed approach has the advantage of providing more accurate estimation of the latent ability. In addition, it may shed some light on the possible answering processes of test‐takers on the items. As an illustration, the proposed approach is applied to a classroom examination of an undergraduate course in engineering science.
Effect of glazing on translucency, color, and surface roughness of monolithic zirconia materials
Authors: Manziuc Manuela‐Maria , Gasparik Cristina , Burde Alexandru V. , Colosi Horaţiu A. , Negucioiu Marius , Dudea Diana
Published: June 2019

Objectives

To assess the effect of material, thickness and glazing upon the color, translucency, and roughness of monolithic zirconia.

Materials and methods

Sixty discs (0.8, 1.5, and 2 mm thickness) were fabricated from A1 translucent zirconia (IPS e.max ZirCAD/MT, Katana/HT, Vita YZ/HT, Cercon/HT) and glazed. Roughness (Ra) was assessed with a profilometer and color coordinates were measured with a spectrophotometer on a black, white, and tooth‐shaded background before and after glazing. Relative translucency parameter (RTP), color differences (CIEDE2000) and differences in translucencies between materials, before and after glazing were calculated. RTP, Ra, color differences were statistically analyzed using ANOVA. Any significant interaction between factors was further analyzed using Tukey's HSD.

Results

RTP values were significantly different between materials (P < .001) and thicknesses (P < .001), with the interaction effect between material type and thickness, also significant (P < .001). However, glazing did not have a significant effect on RTP values (P = .782). Color differences resulted after glazing were significantly different between materials (P < .001), and thicknesses (P < .001) with the interaction effect also significant (P < .001). Glazing influenced roughness, Ra decreasing for all materials (P < .001).

Conclusions

As a result of glazing, only color changes were statistically significant. Translucency varied among brands of precolored monolithic zirconia; the differences increased for greater thicknesses.

Clinical significance

Glazing is an important step in the technological process of ceramic restorations; however, it can influence the final optical appearance of the restoration as color changes could be expected after the application of the glaze.
Pharmacokinetic–pharmacodynamic modelling for the determination of optimal dosing regimen of florfenicol in Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) at different water temperatures and antimicrobial susceptibility levels
Authors: Rairat Tirawat , Hsieh Chia‐Yu , Thongpiam Wipavee , Chou Chi‐Chung
Published: June 2019

Optimized dosing regimen is key to the effective use of antibacterials and to minimizing drug‐related side effects. The current study established a pharmacokinetic–pharmacodynamic (PK‐PD) model for the determination of optimal antibacterial dosing regimen in fish taken into consideration the temperature‐dependent PK and the pathogen‐dependent antimicrobial susceptibility, using florfenicol (FF) in Nile tilapia as an example. The calculated optimal dosages significantly varied by temperature and target MIC levels, ranging from 2.23 (MIC 1 µg/ml at 24°C) to 34.88 mg kg−1 day−1 (MIC 4 µg/ml at 32°C). The appropriateness of the calculated dosages was successfully verified by the in vivo studies. After 5 days of oral administration of the calculated optimal dosage at 24°C, the predicted plasma drug values were in line with the mean observed Cmin(ss) while at 28 and 32°C underestimation of the Cmin(ss) in a dose‐dependent manner was observed and likely due to the occurrence of non‐linear PK at high dosages. The averaged serum protein binding of FF was 19.1%. Our results demonstrated the appropriateness and clinical applicability of the developed PK‐PD approach for the determination of optimal dosing regimens at given temperatures and MICs. Saturation metabolism and PK non‐linearity of FF in tilapia warrant further study.
Off‐Label Use Of Pharmaceuticals: A Detection Controlled Estimation Approach
Authors: David Bradford W. , Turner John L. , Williams Jonathan W.
Published: June 2019

We identify the rate of off‐label use of prescription drugs in the United States during 1993‐2008 using Detection Controlled Estimation. We find that the rate rises from 29.9% to 38.3% during this period. Off‐label prescribing increases when there are fewer FDA‐approved alternatives and a patient’s insurance has less restrictive formularies and lower copayments. The temporal increase in off‐label use coincides with a surge in settlements of Department of Justice (DOJ) lawsuits for off‐label marketing. Those drugs targeted by the DOJ have 4.6% higher rates of off‐label use initially, but the rate decreases 10.2% after the company becomes aware of the suit. The welfare effects of such regulatory intervention are unclear because we find off‐label prescribing patterns by physicians that are consistent with enhancement of patient welfare.
The Welfare Consequences of Mergers with Endogenous Product Choice
Authors: Mazzeo Michael J. , Seim Katja , Varela Mauricio
Published: June 2019

Merger simulations focus on the price changes that result once previously independent competitors set prices jointly and other market participants respond. We consider the incentives for firms to adjust the set of offered products after a merger. Using a model of product choice and pricing, we conduct simulations of equilibrium market outcomes of a merger in a variety of scenarios. Product offering adjustments result in additional effects on profitability and consumer welfare not realized by price responses only, particularly when the merging parties offer relatively similar products pre‐merger. Cost synergies may furthermore entail the pro‐competitive introduction of additional products.
Non‐alcoholic fatty liver disease, liver fibrosis score and cognitive function in middle‐aged adults: The Framingham Study
Authors: Weinstein Galit , Davis‐Plourde Kendra , Himali Jayandra J. , Zelber‐Sagi Shira , Beiser Alexa S. , Seshadri Sudha
Published: June 2019

Background

Non‐alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is common and has been recently related to brain health. We aimed to assess the relationships of NAFLD and its severity, using the NAFLD fibrosis score (NFS), with cognitive performance.

Methods

Framingham study Offspring and 3rd generation participants were included if they attended exams 9 (2002‐2008) and 2 (2008‐2011), respectively, were free of dementia and stroke, and did not have excessive alcohol intake. Between 2008 and 2011, participants underwent Multi‐detector computed tomography scans of the abdomen to determine NAFLD diagnosis and the NFS was used to categorize the severity of fibrosis. Cross‐sectional relationships of NAFLD and the NFS with cognitive testing of memory, abstract reasoning, visual perception, attention and executive function were assessed, while adjusting for multiple cardiometabolic variables including visceral adipose tissue, diabetes and insulin resistance.

Results

Of the 1287 participants (mean age = 61±12 years, 48% men), 378 (29%) had NAFLD. The presence of NAFLD was not associated with cognitive function. However, among those with NAFLD (mean age = 61±12 years; 58% men), high compared to low risk of advanced fibrosis was associated with poorer performance on similarities (β = −2.22 ± 0.83; P = 0.009) and trail‐making B minus A (β = −0.11 ± 0.05; P = 0.028), independently of potential confounders.

Conclusions

Participants with high risk of advanced fibrosis may have poorer cognitive function compared to those with low risk, particularly in executive function and abstract reasoning. Future findings are necessary to evaluate the value of the NFS as a biomarker that predicts cognitive impairment and dementia and to explore the role of hepatic fibrosis in brain health.
Sexual dimorphism in upper gastrointestinal motility is dependent on duration of fast, time of day, age, and strain of mice
Authors: Soni Krishnakant G. , Halder Tripti , Conner Margaret E. , Preidis Geoffrey A.
Published: June 2019

Background

An important limitation of gastrointestinal motility testing is high variability. Conditions that could contribute to variability, including the duration of pretest fasting and time of day, are rarely reported and have not been examined systematically. This study aimed to explore whether these conditions, as well as age, sex, and strain of mice, affect the results of a standard laboratory test of upper gastrointestinal motility.

Methods

Male and female 8‐week‐old C57BL/6J mice received a gastric gavage of fluorescein isothiocyanate (FITC)‐conjugated dextran. FITC‐dextran distribution was measured 30 minutes later. Mean geometric centers (MGCs) were calculated to determine the effects of short versus prolonged fasting and morning versus afternoon testing. The influence of age was assessed in 2‐ to 10‐week‐old animals, and the influence of strain was determined in C57BL/6J, BALB/c, and CD‐1 mice.

Key results

Motility was sexually dimorphic. MGC progressed 19% further in 8‐week‐old C57BL/6J males versus females when tested in the morning after a short fast. Similar patterns were observed in morning or afternoon testing after overnight fasting. In males, motility was unaffected by time of day; however, MGC progressed 31% further in females tested in the afternoon versus morning after a short fast. Sex differences also were present in CD‐1 but not BALB/c mice. Testing in neonates revealed strikingly low variability and no sex differences.

Conclusions & inferences

Fasting duration, time of day, age, sex, and strain of mice all influence upper gastrointestinal motility testing. Sex differences are not present in neonatal pups, but develop soon after weaning.
Effects of increased hemoglobin on child growth, development, and disease: a systematic review and meta‐analysis
Authors: Larson Leila Margaret , Kubes Julianne Nicole , Ramírez‐Luzuriaga Maria J. , Khishen Sarah , H. Shankar Anuraj , Prado Elizabeth Leah
Published: June 2019

In children under 5, a hemoglobin (Hb) cutoff of 11 g/dL is recommended by the World Health Organization to define anemia, yet few studies have examined whether this cut point accurately coincides with negative functional consequences. This systematic review and meta‐analysis of iron intervention and observational studies aimed to clarify the consequences of low Hb concentration in children under age 5 years on growth, development, and chronic disease (functional outcomes) across the full range of Hb values. A literature search returned 5049 studies; of these, 56 intervention and 20 observational studies fit the inclusion criteria. Among iron supplementation trials, a metaregression indicated significant associations between intervention effects on Hb and their effects on motor and mental development. For each 1 standard deviation (SD) increase in Hb, motor scores increased by 0.28 SD and mental scores increased by 0.24 SD. Iron supplementation trials among children with lower Hb concentrations at baseline showed stronger associations between their effects on Hb and their effects on mental development (P‐interaction = 0.008). Heterogeneity among observational studies precluded calculation of pooled associations between Hb and functional outcomes. Available evidence was not able to establish an inflection point at which decreasing Hb begins to be associated with negative functional outcomes. Future research is needed to examine associations of Hb with growth and development in populations with varying levels of Hb, inflammation, and in different ages and settings.
Support gaps in parent‐emerging adult dyads: The role of support quality
Authors: Wang Ningxin
Published: June 2019

This study used a support gap approach to examine parental support to college‐going emerging adults. Based on data from 156 parent–child dyads, this study investigated whether discrepancies between the amounts of support that children received from parents and what they desired would be associated with both persons’ perceived support quality and individual and relational well‐being. Using polynomial regressions with response surface modeling, analyses demonstrated that, generally, support deficits (i.e., receiving less support than desired) were associated with poorer outcomes. However, support surpluses (i.e., receiving more support than desired) were not necessarily problematic, and children and parents exhibited different viewpoints regarding support surpluses. In addition, child‐reported support quality mediated several associations between support gaps and relationship satisfaction reported by both persons.
Monarch butterfly host plant (milkweed Asclepias spp.) abundance varies by habitat type across 98 prairies
Authors: Kaul Andrew D. , Wilsey Brian J.
Published: June 2019

The decline in migratory monarch butterflies (Danaus plexippus) over the past 20 years has been attributed to several drivers, including loss of their host plants (milkweeds Asclepias spp.). This has sparked widespread interest in milkweed ecology and restoration. We developed a model on environmental and habitat‐type variables to predict milkweed abundance by sampling 93 prairie plantings (47 conservation plantings and 46 roadsides) and 5 unplowed prairie remnants throughout the state of Iowa, United States. Milkweeds were censused in 10–25 random locations within each site, and data on plant diversity, age of planting, soil characteristics, and management were tested as predictors of abundance. Milkweed densities of all species combined were highest in remnant prairies (8,705 stems/ha), intermediate in roadside plantings (1,274 stems/ha), and lowest in conservation plantings (212 stems/ha). Most milkweeds were common milkweeds Asclepias syriaca, which were more abundant in roadside than conservation plantings. Remnants contained the most milkweed species. Total milkweed and common milkweed abundance were both predicted by higher soil pH, a more linear site shape, and lower soil bulk density across restorations. Our results indicate that common milkweed is maintained by disturbance, and establishes readily in rural roadside habitat. Remnants are important as reservoirs for multiple milkweed species and should be protected.
Challenges to and opportunities for the implementation of non‐invasive positive pressure ventilation in the Asia‐Pacific region
Authors: Guan Lili , Zhou Luqian , Song Liqiang , Wang Lingwei , Chen Dandan , Chen Rongchang
Published: June 2019

Non‐invasive positive pressure ventilation (NPPV) is undoubtedly one of the most significant advancements in mechanical ventilation technology in the past 30 years. With accumulating evidence from clinical studies and support from clinical guidelines, NPPV is now widely used in hospitals and increasingly prescribed for home therapy in the Asia‐Pacific region. However, in comparison with the developed Western countries, overall use of NPPV in the region is lagging behind. This study reviews this imbalance of NPPV use both in the acute and domiciliary settings in the Asia‐Pacific region. Important issues related to NPPV use are also discussed along with speculation around potential strategies that could promote wider implementation of NPPV in the region. We hope this review will stimulate interest in the clinical application and potential research avenues for NPPV in the Asia‐Pacific region, and promote education and staff training in the technique.
Sense of Community and Migration Intentions among Rural Young Professionals
Authors: Wolfe Anna Wiederhold , Black Laura W. , Welser Howard T.
Published: June 2019

This mixed‐methods study examines rural young professionals' migratory intentions in relation to sense of community. The most significant difference we found in migratory intentions was between two groups, which we call stayers and seekers. Both groups highly valued sense of community but they reported dramatically different experiences related to the dimensions of membership and emotional connection to the particular focal community of this study. We find that, in addition to commonly cited factors of age, importance of family, traditional cultural tastes, and achieved sense of community, the experience of disconnection between desired and experienced sense of community represents a distinct influence on respondents' intentions to leave within the next 5 years. The qualitative data suggest that the practices of granting greater access to local stocks of knowledge, offering direct invitations to participate in community life, and providing greater responsibilities in the service of the community cultivate emotional connection and sense of membership, and therefore may be critical to better retaining those people who feel the greatest sense of disconnection. This study examines the dynamics underlying these results and outlines practical implications for other communities hoping to combat local manifestations of brain drain.
Making Partner*
Authors: Loss Frédéric , Renucci Antoine
Published: June 2019

Associates need reputation and financial resources to make partner at law firms, consultancies, and venture capital organizations. We provide a theory for how this prospect influences the business risk strategy they pursue and their execution effort. In our model, business risk affects how reputation evolves and the benchmark reputation for making partner through the impact of execution effort on the financial resources accumulated. We show that when business risk is observable, associates with good reputation take on high business risk, as opposed to low business risk, in order to protect their reputation. We also show that opening partner positions decreases the effort incentives of the associates with the best reputation. Finally, we conjecture that wage dispersion at the associate level should be higher when business risk is unobservable.
Breedon Hill, Leicestershire: new surveys and their implications
Authors: Whittaker Christopher
Published: June 2019

This article presents the results of a non-intrusive investigation conducted at the scheduled multi-period site at Breedon Hill, Leicestershire. The hilltop is the site of a univallate hillfort believed to date to the Early-Middle Iron Age. From the 7th century AD, a minster church was founded within the hillfort enclosure, which became the site of an Augustinian Priory in the 12th century. Today approximately two-thirds of the hilltop has been irretrievably lost due to quarrying). Breedon Hill from the air looking southward. (Taken from http://www.geograph.org.uk/p/4597198 ©Anthony Parkes (2015) and licensed for reuse under CC BY-SA 2.0) The investigation, undertaken in spring 2016, combines gradiometer and earth resistance geophysical surveys, alongside digital terrain modelling (processed LIDAR data), to contribute to the understanding of the character and development of the hillfort interior. While previous excavations have sought to understand the development of the hillfort ramparts, little is known about the different phases of occupation at the hilltop, especially within the hillfort interior. The results of the geophysical surveys reveal several phases of roundhouses and post-built structures in the south-eastern part of the hillfort interior. The interpreted results are contextualised in relation to similar regional sites. An interpretation of a possible phase of occupation is made based on the results.
Nanocalorimetry Reveals the Growth Dynamics of Escherichia coli Cells Undergoing Adaptive Evolution during Long-Term Stationary Phase
Authors: Robador Alberto , Amend Jan P. , Finkel Steven E.
Published: June 2019

The present study is innovative in that we have identified previously unknown growth dynamics related to the temporal expression of the growth advantage in stationary phase (GASP) phenotype that allow mutants in long-term stationary-phase cultures to capitalize on the decrease of energy over prolonged incubation periods. By remaining in an active, but growth-limited, metabolic state similar to that observed in GASP cells grown
in vitro
, natural microbial communities might be able to prevail over much longer time scales. We believe this report to be a remarkable methodological and conceptual breakthrough in the study of the long-term survival and evolution of bacteria.
Uncoupling the Threading and Unfoldase Actions of
Plasmodium
HSP101 Reveals Differences in Export between Soluble and Insoluble Proteins
Authors: Matthews Kathryn M. , Kalanon Ming , de Koning-Ward Tania F.
Published: June 2019

The
Plasmodium
parasites that cause malaria export hundreds of proteins into their host red blood cell (RBC). These exported proteins drastically alter the structural and functional properties of the RBC and play critical roles in parasite virulence and survival. To access the RBC cytoplasm, parasite proteins must pass through the
Plasmodium
translocon of exported proteins (PTEX) located at the membrane interfacing the parasite and host cell. Our data provide evidence that HSP101, a component of PTEX, serves to unfold protein cargo requiring translocation. We also reveal that addition of a transmembrane domain to soluble cargo influences its ability to be translocated by parasites in which the HSP101 motor and unfolding activities have become uncoupled. Therefore, we propose that proteins with transmembrane domains use an alternative unfolding pathway prior to PTEX to facilitate export.
Digitalizing the Microbiome for Human Health
Authors: Nath Kirti , Thaiss Christoph A.
Published: June 2019

The microbiome has recently joined the club of endocrine entities of the human body that are involved in homeostasis and disease. Microbiome characterizations are now typically included in longitudinal and cross-sectional population studies, associations with microbiome features have been made for almost any human disease, and the molecules by which the microbiome functionally contributes to host physiology are being elucidated.
Stent graft exclusion of a mycotic profunda femoris artery pseudoaneurysm with 2-year follow-up
Authors: Bakr Ahmed Aboubakr-Esedik , Harding James , Mahmood Asif , Srinivasamurthy Devaraj
Published: June 2019

Mycotic pseudoaneurysms develop at sites of intimal disruption where bacterial invasion occurs. The conventional treatment involves arterial ligation, excision and debridement, followed by a bypass procedure at a later point. Recently, covered stent grafts have been used to treat mycotic arterial aneurysms either as temporary or definitive procedures. However, this is associated with a risk of stent graft infection, recurrence and rupture. There is a paucity of long-term results on the durability of such endovascular stent graft procedures in mycotic arterial pseudoaneurysms. We describe a successful endovascular covered stent repair of a mycotic profunda femoris artery pseudoaneurysm and follow-up of this repair at 2 years.
Suicide in Canadian veterans living in Ontario: a retrospective cohort study linking routinely collected data
Authors: Mahar Alyson L , Aiken Alice B , Whitehead Marlo , Tien Homer , Cramm Heidi , Fear Nicola T , Kurdyak Paul
Published: June 2019

Objectives

To compare the risk of death by suicide in male veterans with age-matched civilians.

Design

Retrospective cohort study linking provincial administrative databases between 1990 and 2013 with follow-up complete until death or December 31, 2015.

Setting

Population-based study in Ontario, Canada.

Participants

Ex-serving Canadian Armed Forces and Royal Canadian Mounted Police veterans living in Ontario who registered for provincial health insurance were included. A civilian comparator group was matched 4:1 on age and sex.

Main outcome

Death by suicide was classified using standard cause of death diagnosis codes from a provincial registry of mandatory data collected from death certificates. Fine and Gray sub-distribution hazards regression compared the risk of death by suicide between veterans and civilians. Analyses were adjusted for age, residential region, income, rurality and major physical comorbidities.

Results

20 397 male veterans released to Ontario between 1990 and 2013 and 81 559 age–sex matched civilians were included. 4.2% of veterans died during the study time frame, compared with 6.5% of the civilian cohort. Death by suicide was rare in both cohorts, accounting for 4.6% and 3.6% of veteran and civilian deaths, respectively. After adjustment for confounders, veterans had an 18% lower risk of dying from causes other than suicide (HR 0.82, 95% CI 0.76 to 0.89) and a similar risk of dying by suicide (HR 1.01, 95% CI 0.71 to 1.43), compared with civilians.

Conclusions

Deaths by suicide were rare in male veterans residing in Ontario. Our findings demonstrate that veterans had a similar risk of suicide-related mortality as an age-matched civilian population. A better understanding of effective suicide prevention as well as clarifying pathways to seeking and receiving mental health supports and services are important areas for future consideration.
Recurrent maternal CMV infection associated with symptomatic congenital infection: results from a questionnaire study in Portugal
Authors: Paixão Paulo , Brito Maria João , Virella Daniel , Neto Maria Teresa
Published: June 2019

Objective

Human cytomegalovirus (CMV) is the most widespread agent of congenital infection in humans and is still a challenging issue. Despite lower rates of vertical transmission being associated with recurrent infection when compared with primary infection, the first still represents the majority of congenital infections worldwide. Based on data from active reporting, we explored the influence of maternal primary/non-primary infection both on the presentation and outcome of congenital CMV infection in early childhood.

Design

Infants with positive viruria during the first 3 weeks of life were reported through the Portuguese Paediatric Surveillance Unit.

Patients

Infants born between 2006 and 2011 with confirmed congenital CMV infection.

Methods

Maternal infection was considered primary if CMV IgG seroconversion occurred during pregnancy or low avidity IgG was documented; it was considered non-primary if positive IgG was documented before pregnancy or high avidity CMV IgG was present early in pregnancy. Follow-up questionnaires were sent up to 6 years of age.

Results

Forty confirmed cases of congenital CMV infection were reported (6.6:105live births, 95% CI 4.81 to 8.92); 22 out of 40 were asymptomatic. The odds for non-primary maternal infection if the offspring was symptomatic at birth were 6.2 (95% CI 1.2 to 32.27).

Conclusion

The reported number of confirmed cases of congenital CMV infection was much lower than expected. Under-reporting and missed diagnosis were considered possible reasons. Non-primary maternal infections were associated with symptomatic congenital CMV infection in the offspring. Maternal recurrent infections can have a significant impact on the total number of symptomatic infections in Portugal.
Syntax-Based Chinese-Vietnamese Tree-to-Tree Statistical Machine Translation with Bilingual Features
Authors: Gao Shengxiang , Huang Jihao , Xue Mingya , Yu Zhengtao , Wang Zhuo , Zhang Yang
Published: June 2019

Because of the scarcity of bilingual corpora, current Chinese--Vietnamese machine translation is far from satisfactory. Considering the differences between Chinese and Vietnamese, we investigate whether linguistic differences can be used to supervise machine translation and propose a method of syntax-based Chinese--Vietnamese tree-to-tree statistical machine translation with bilingual features. Analyzing the syntax differences between Chinese and Vietnamese, we define some linguistic difference-based rules, such as attributive position, time adverbial position, and locative adverbial position, and create rewards for similar rules. These rewards are integrated into the extraction of tree-to-tree translation rules, and we optimize the pruning of the search space during the decoding phase. The experiments on Chinese--Vietnamese bilingual sentence translation show that the proposed method performs better than several compared methods. Further, the results show that syntactic difference features, with search pruning, can improve the accuracy of machine translation without degrading the efficiency.
Ancient–Modern Chinese Translation with a New Large Training Dataset
Authors: Liu Dayiheng , Yang Kexin , Qu Qian , Lv Jiancheng
Published: June 2019

Ancient Chinese brings the wisdom and spirit culture of the Chinese nation. Automatic translation from ancient Chinese to modern Chinese helps to inherit and carry forward the quintessence of the ancients. However, the lack of large-scale parallel corpus limits the study of machine translation in ancient–modern Chinese. In this article, we propose an ancient–modern Chinese clause alignment approach based on the characteristics of these two languages. This method combines both lexical-based information and statistical-based information, which achieves 94.2 F1-score on our manual annotation Test set. We use this method to create a new large-scale ancient–modern Chinese parallel corpus that contains 1.24M bilingual pairs. To our best knowledge, this is the first large high-quality ancient–modern Chinese dataset. Furthermore, we analyzed and compared the performance of the SMT and various NMT models on this dataset and provided a strong baseline for this task.
A SAT Approach to Branchwidth
Authors: Lodha Neha , Ordyniak Sebastian , Szeider Stefan
Published: June 2019

Branch decomposition is a prominent method for structurally decomposing a graph, a hypergraph, or a propositional formula in conjunctive normal form. The width of a branch decomposition provides a measure of how well the object is decomposed. For many applications, it is crucial to computing a branch decomposition whose width is as small as possible. We propose an approach based on Boolean Satisfiability (SAT) to finding branch decompositions of small width. The core of our approach is an efficient SAT encoding that determines with a single SAT-call whether a given hypergraph admits a branch decomposition of a certain width. For our encoding, we propose a natural partition-based characterization of branch decompositions. The encoding size imposes a limit on the size of the given hypergraph. To break through this barrier and to scale the SAT approach to larger instances, we develop a new heuristic approach where the SAT encoding is used to locally improve a given candidate decomposition until a fixed-point is reached. This new SAT-based local improvement method scales now to instances with several thousands of vertices and edges.
Binary Reachability of Timed-register Pushdown Automata and Branching Vector Addition Systems
Authors: Clemente Lorenzo , Lasota Sławomir , Lazić Ranko , Mazowiecki Filip
Published: June 2019

Timed-register pushdown automata constitute a very expressive class of automata, whose transitions may involve state, input, and top-of-stack timed registers with unbounded differences. They strictly subsume pushdown timed automata of Bouajjani et al., dense-timed pushdown automata of Abdulla et al., and orbit-finite timed-register pushdown automata of Clemente and Lasota. We give an effective logical characterisation of the reachability relation of timed-register pushdown automata. As a corollary, we obtain a doubly exponential time procedure for the non-emptiness problem. We show that the complexity reduces to singly exponential under the assumption of monotonic time. The proofs involve a novel model of one-dimensional integer branching vector addition systems with states. As a result interesting on its own, we show that reachability sets of the latter model are semilinear and computable in exponential time.
Lycorine Hydrochloride Inhibits the Virulence Traits ofCandida albicans
Authors: Yang Longfei , Liu Xin , Sui Yujie , Ma Zhiming , Feng Xuechao , Wang Fang , Ma Tonghui
Published: June 2019

The human opportunistic fungal pathogenCandida albicanscauses a severe health burden while the biofilms formed byC. albicanspresent a kind of infections that are hard to cure, highlighting the pressing need for new antifungal drugs againstC. albicans. This study was to explore the antifungal activities of lycorine hydrochloride (LH) againstC. albicans. The minimal inhibitory concentration (MIC) of LH againstC. albicansSC5314 was 64μM. Below its MIC, LH demonstrated antivirulence property by suppressing adhesion, filamentation, biofilm formation, and development, as well as the production of extracellular phospholipase and exopolymeric substances (EPS). The cytotoxicity of LH against mammalian cells was low, with half maximal inhibitory concentrations (IC50) above 256μM. Moreover, LH showed a synergistic effect with AmB, although its interaction with fluconazole, as well as caspofungin, was indifferent. Thus, our study reports the potential use of LH, alone or in combination with current antifungal drugs, to fightC. albicansinfections.