bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Effects of slip and rheological parameters on the flow and heat transfer of a Herschel-Bulkley fluid
Authors: Jing Zefeng , Wang Shuzhong , Zhai Zhende
Published: March 2017

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the combined effects of slip and rheological parameters on the flow and heat transfer of the Herschel-Bulkley fluid.

Design/methodology/approach

The combinative dimensionless parameter method is introduced into the equations of the slip flow and heat transfer to make the discussion more comprehensive. More specifically, the slip and rheological parameters are transformed into the dimensionless slip number as well as Herschel-Bulkley number. We solve the dimensionless equations and then focus on the effects of these parameters on the slip flow and heat transfer.

Findings

The results show that, for a given value of Herschel-Bulkley number, there is a finite critical value of slip number at which the pressure gradient reaches the lowest value and both the dimensionless yield radius and slip velocity become 1. Meanwhile, the Nusselt number tends to be infinite at this critical value of slip number. For the case of slip, the Nusselt number also approaches infinity at a finite critical value of Herschel-Bulkley number. Furthermore, the dimensionless velocity as well as temperature of the yield pseudoplastic fluid with higher slip number is lower within a small radius but becomes higher near the wall. Meanwhile, from the velocity and temperature profiles, the effect of Herschel-Bulkley number on these two parameters of the Bingham fluid at the smaller radius is opposite.

Originality/value

These associated expressions can be generalized to the flow and heat transfer of a Herschel-Bulkley fluid under slip boundary condition. It can provide a reference for the engineering application relating to the heat transfer and flow of a Herschel-Bulkley fluid. Meanwhile, it also suggests some revelations for dealing with this similar problem.
Talent management: a burgeoning strategic focus in Indian IT industry
Authors: Naim Mohammad Faraz , Lenka Usha
Published: March 2017

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine the talent management (TM) system in an Indian IT organisation.

Design/methodology/approach

Structured interviews were conducted to collect primary data and then content was analysed to develop the case study.

Findings

Recruitment, talent development, knowledge management, social media, performance management, and rewards are the main practices associated with TM.

Research limitations/implications

The authors acknowledge that the scope of the study is limited to the IT sector and the study is not empirically tested.

Practical implications

HR managers should embrace the practices of TM of the case organisation to effectively manage their workforce.

Originality/value

This is a first study to unravel TM in the Indian IT industry context.
Southern Filipino school leaders and religious diversity: a typology
Authors: Brooks Melanie Carol
Published: March 2017

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to explore how school principals in Southern Philippines approached issues related to religious diversity because of its long history of ethno-religious conflict. Religion has particular importance in the field of education, since how and in what ways religion is included in formal and non-formal curricula can have large bearing on student learning and engagement.

Design/methodology/approach

Data for this exploratory qualitative case study were collected over five months in Cagayan de Oro, located in Northern Mindanao, Philippines. The interview sample included 42 principals. School site observations took place in 23 public schools. Data were analyzed and sorted using an inductive and iterative process that thematically coded the data that focused broadly on leadership and religiosity.

Findings

The presentation of findings is organized by leadership typologies that emerged through the analysis of the data. Findings suggested that school leaders approached religious diversity in one of five ways, namely, as evangelical leaders, devotional leaders, separational leaders, respectful leaders, or uninformed leaders.

Originality/value

This study is a unique contribution to understanding how principal spirituality informs leadership, especially in the non-western cultural contexts where there is need for a localized leadership inquiry.
Same but different? An examination of Swedish upper secondary school teachers’ and students’ views and use of ICT in education
Authors: Lindberg Ola J. , Olofsson Anders D. , Fransson Göran
Published: March 2017

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine Swedish upper secondary school teachers’ and students’ views and use of ICT in education.

Design/methodology/approach

In total, 25 individual teachers and 39 students in small focus groups were interviewed. A qualitative content analysis was performed using NVivo11. The analysis was conducted in three steps: with each individual teacher, the student groups and the cohort of teachers and students. A comparative analysis was also conducted.

Findings

The teachers’ views and use of ICT are diverse. Teachers and students identify similar challenges when using ICT in education, e.g. time and subject, the shortcomings of a school’s learning management system (LMS) and teachers’ digital competence. Students report an extensive out-of-school use of smartphones and an extensive in-school use of laptops and LMS.

Research limitations/implications

The relatively small number of teachers and students in three schools make generalisations difficult. The examination of teachers’ and students’ views and use in the same context reveals new knowledge.

Practical implications

The study may influence teachers’ use of ICT in education, based on a better understanding of students’ use.

Social implications

The study may lead to a better understanding of teachers’ and students’ different perspectives and a more enhanced and sustainable in-school use of ICT.

Originality/value

The originality is that teachers’ and students’ views and use of ICT in education are examined at the same time. The paper contributes new knowledge about how teachers and students conceptualise and use ICT in upper secondary school practices.
The impact of demographic factors on selected aspects of e-learning in higher education
Authors: Aristovnik Aleksander , Tomazevic Nina , Kerzic Damijana , Umek Lan
Published: March 2017

Purpose

In higher education, a combination of traditional face-to-face learning and e-learning is becoming very popular. During their studies, students are enroled in several e-courses. They perceive various aspects of e-courses and show different responses when using teaching materials and learning in an e-course. The purpose of this paper is to measure such aspects from the students’ perspective and explore the differences among various subgroups of students.

Design/methodology/approach

In the survey, students expressed their opinions on 13 different aspects (a seven-level scale) of the e-courses in which they were enroled. In addition, the influence of some demographic characteristics was analysed. The authors used statistical tests (t-test and ANOVA) to compare the means among the analysed subgroups.

Findings

The empirical results reveal some differences among the subgroups of students. Students’ attitudes to blended learning increase significantly by year of study and decrease according to the amount of other non-study activities. Simplicity of finding materials in an e-course is the factor where male and female students differ significantly. This finding serves as a guideline for faculty management concerned with how to adjust blended learning to fulfil the various expectations of different student subgroups.

Originality/value

This paper’s insights will be of value to individuals and institutions engaged in the e-learning process in higher education. In particular, the results will be helpful to the faculty management and teachers with the main task to increase the engagement of particular groups of students regarding the work in e-courses.
Online and store patronage: a typology of grocery shoppers
Authors: Harris Patricia , Dall’Olmo Riley Francesca , Riley Debra , Hand Chris
Published: March 2017

Purpose

Grounded on approach/avoidance behaviour theory, the purpose of this paper is to develop a typology of grocery shoppers based on the concomitant perceived advantages and disadvantages of shopping online and in store for a single cohort of consumers who buy groceries in both channels.

Design/methodology/approach

A survey design was employed using a sample of 871 UK shoppers who had purchased groceries online and offline. The survey instrument contained items that measured the perceived advantages and disadvantages of grocery shopping online, and items relating to the perceived advantages and disadvantages of grocery shopping in traditional supermarkets. Items were selected from the extant literature and subjected to content and face validity checks. Cluster analysis was used to develop typologies of online and offline grocery shoppers. The inter-relation between the two typology sets was then examined.

Findings

The results of the research provide several insights into the characteristics, perceptions and channel patronage preferences of grocery shoppers. In particular, profiling e-grocery shoppers on the basis of their concomitant perceptions of shopping online and in store suggests that the choice of whether to shop online or in store may be driven not by the perceived advantages of one channel vs the other, but by the desire to avoid the greater disadvantages of the alternative. These perceptions differ somewhat between different consumer groups.

Originality/value

This study makes a noteworthy contribution to the internet and general shopping literature by providing a profile of grocery shoppers based on their concomitant and often conflicting perceived advantages and disadvantages of shopping online and their perceived advantages and disadvantages of shopping in traditional supermarkets. The use of a single cohort of consumers overcomes the bias in previous studies that employ separate cohorts of online and offline shoppers and reveal important insights into the complex perceptions and behaviours of multichannel grocery shoppers.
Competitiveness analysis through comparative relation mining
Authors: Wang Hongwei , Gao Song , Yin Pei , Liu James Nga-Kwok
Published: March 2017

Purpose

Comparative opinions widely exist in online reviews as a common way of expressing consumers’ ideas or preferences toward certain products. Such opinion-rich texts are key proxies for detecting product competitiveness. The purpose of this paper is to set up a model for competitiveness analysis by identifying comparative relations from online reviews for restaurants based on both pattern matching and machine learning.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors define the sub-category of comparative sentences according to Chinese linguistics. Classification rules are set up for each type of comparative relations through class sequence rule. To improve the accuracy of classification, a comparative entity dictionary is then introduced for further identifying comparative sentences. Finally, the authors collect reviews for restaurants from Dianping.com to conduct experiments for testing the proposed model.

Findings

The experiments show that the proposed method outperforms the baseline methods in terms of precision in identifying comparative sentences. On the basis of such comparison-rich sentences, product features and comparative relations are extracted for sentiment analysis, and sentimental score is assigned to each comparative relation to facilitate competitiveness analysis.

Research limitations/implications

Only the explicit comparative relations are discussed, neglecting the implicit ones. Besides that, the study is grounded in the assumption that all features are homogeneous. In some cases, however, the weights to different aspects are not of the same importance to market.

Practical implications

On the basis of comparative relation mining, product features and comparative opinions are extracted for competitiveness analysis, which is of interest to businesses for finding weakness or strength of products, as well as to consumers for making better purchase decisions.

Social implications

Comparative relation mining could be possibly applied in social media for identifying relations among users or products, and ranking users or products, as well as helping companies target and track competitors to enhance competitiveness.

Originality/value

The authors propose a research framework for restaurant competitiveness analysis by mining comparative relations from online consumer reviews. The results would be able to differentiate one restaurant from another in some aspects of interest to consumers, and reveal the changes in these differences over time.
A two-sided matching decision method for supply and demand of technological knowledge
Authors: Liu Yong , Li Kevin W.
Published: March 2017

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to propose a novel prospect-based two-sided matching decision model for matching supply and demand of technological knowledge assisted by a broker. This model enables the analyst to account for the stakeholders’ psychological behaviours and their impact on the matching decision in an open innovation setting.

Design/methodology/approach

The prospect theory and grey relational analysis are used to develop the proposed two-sided matching decision framework.

Findings

By properly calibrating model parameters, the case study demonstrates that the proposed approach can be applied to real-world technological knowledge trading in a market for technology (MFT) and yields matching results that are more consistent with the reality.

Research limitations/implications

The proposed model does not differentiate the types of knowledge exchanged (established vs novel, tacit vs codified, general vs specialized) (Ardito et al., 2016, Nielsen and Nielsen, 2009). Moreover, the model focuses on incorporating psychological behaviour of the MFT participants and does not consider their other characteristics.

Practical implications

The proposed model can be applied to achieve a better matching between technological knowledge suppliers and users in a broker-assisted MFT.

Social implications

A better matching between technological knowledge suppliers and users can enhance the success of open innovation, thereby contributing to the betterment of the society.

Originality/value

This paper furnishes a novel theoretical model for matching supply and demand in a broker-assisted MFT. Methodologically, the proposed model can effectively capture market participants’ psychological considerations.
Business analytics-enabled decision-making effectiveness through knowledge absorptive capacity in health care
Authors: Wang Yichuan , Byrd Terry Anthony
Published: March 2017

Purpose

Drawing on the resource-based theory and dynamic capability view, this paper aims to examine the mechanisms by which business analytics (BA) capabilities (i.e. the effective use of data aggregation, analytics and data interpretation tools) in healthcare units indirectly influence decision-making effectiveness through the mediating role of knowledge absorptive capacity.

Design/methodology/approach

Using a survey method, this study collected data from the hospitals in Taiwan. Of the 155 responses received, three were incomplete, giving a 35.84 per cent response rate with 152 valid data points. Structural equation modeling was used to test the hypotheses.

Findings

This study conceptualizes, operationalizes and measures the BA capability as a multi-dimensional construct that is formed by capturing the functionalities of BA systems in health care, leading to the conclusion that healthcare units are likely to obtain valuable knowledge through using the data analysis and interpretation tools effectively. The effective use of data analysis and interpretation tools in healthcare units indirectly influence decision-making effectiveness, an impact that is mediated by absorptive capacity.

Originality/value

This study adds values to the literature by conceptualizing BA capabilities in healthcare and demonstrating how knowledge absorption matters when implementing BA to the decision-making process. The mediating role of absorptive capacity not only provides a mechanism by which BA can contribute to decision-making practices but also offers a new solution to the puzzle of the IT productivity paradox in healthcare settings.
How MNC’s subsidiaries may improve their innovative performance? The role of external sources and knowledge management capabilities
Authors: Ferraris Alberto , Santoro Gabriele , Dezi Luca
Published: March 2017

Purpose

This paper aims at exploring the effect of knowledge management (KM) practices on the relationship between external research and development (R&D) and innovative performance. The authors argue that the firms which develop and possess superior KM capabilities have the ability to better manage external knowledge and combine it with the internal one.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors used a sample of 117 European MNC subsidiaries. An OLS regression analysis was carried out to evaluate the moderator effect of KM on the relationship between external R&D and innovative performance.

Findings

The authors found positive evidences in favor of a moderator effect of KM. This means that subsidiaries with superior KM capabilities are more effective in using external R&D, augmenting the magnitude of their external sources of knowledge and, consequently, improving their innovative performance.

Practical implications

Managerially speaking, both corporate and subsidiaries’ managers need to understand the relevance of managing knowledge effectively and efficiently at the subsidiary level. Corporate managers need to allocate more resources (both financial and managerial) to the subsidiaries that are active in knowledge transfer and sharing, while subsidiaries managers need to implement practically the KM tools and processes at the subsidiary organizational level to improve subsidiary’s innovative performance.

Originality/value

This paper contributes mainly to the KM field, highlighting the importance of KM at the subsidiary level, whereas most of previous studies focus on different units of analysis.
Leading into strategic growth: building capability at Global Suppliers
Authors: Hysmith Dara
Published: March 2017

Purpose

The Global Suppliers leadership capability model (GSLCM) answers essential questions emerging from a strategy development framework in which leaders uncover their assumptions, test those assumptions in the marketplace, and learn from failure and success in an iterative cycle. The purpose of this paper is to explore Global Suppliers’s approach to implementing the GSLCM and examine how its leaders have adopted and applied the model.

Design/methodology/approach

The primary method of data collection in this single, descriptive case research design was interviews with leaders across Global Suppliers.

Findings

Results revealed adoption occurred through extensive sensemaking and several methods of knowledge transfer, including storytelling and teaching assignments. Manner of application varied under three themes: development of the self and others, performance management, and creating new paths. Three recommendations to promote further adoption and application emerged: align rewards and recognition, share stories across the enterprise, and embed processes and systems.

Research limitations/implications

This study was broadly intended to discern the processes and activities occurring as leaders became exposed to, explored, and integrated the GSLCM, data that was of immediate, practical significance to Global Suppliers in fueling its strategic reorientation. With this focus, treatment of the literature and extant theory was abbreviated. Further, as a single case study research design, generalizability was restricted.

Originality/value

Results provide a compelling, intimate portrait of a worldwide organizational effort to synergize leadership and strategic growth capabilities using a chiefly emergent approach. This illustration thus makes a unique contribution to the leadership development, organization development, and change management literature streams.
Does intellectual capital efficiency improve firm performance in BRICS economies? A dynamic panel estimation
Authors: Nadeem Muhammad , Gan Christopher , Nguyen Cuong
Published: March 2017

Purpose

The aim of the current study is to measure the dynamic relationship between intellectual capital (IC) and firm performance in Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa (BRICS) economies.

Design/methodology/approach

The current study applies dynamic panel system generalized method of moments estimator to investigate the dynamic relationship between IC and firm performance of 6,045 publically listed firms in BRICS economies for the period of 2005-2014.

Findings

The results revealed that IC efficiency is significantly associated with return on assets and return on equity. Furthermore, human, structural and physical capitals have a positive and significant impact on firm performance. The results, while endorsing resource-based, resource-dependency and learning organization theories, emphasize the importance of IC for firm performance.

Practical implications

The current study does not only provides new direction for future research to analyze dynamic nature of IC and firm performance relationship but also emphasizes the importance of intangibles because of their contribution toward value added. The current study does provide cross-country comparison of top five emerging economies which is useful for the policy makers to evaluate investments in intangibles.

Originality/value

The current study is the first study to use dynamic ordinary least square (OLS) and Wooldridge strict exogeneity test to test the dynamic nature of the relationship between IC and firm performance. Moreover, unlike previous studies which ignore South Africa, this study covers all BRICS economies.
Influence of rohu (Labeo rohita) deboning by-product on composition, physical properties and sensorial acceptability of rohu cutlets
Authors: Surasani Vijay Kumar Reddy
Published: March 2017

Purpose

The purpose of the study was to utilize rohu deboning by-product to develop edible cutlets and to study its effects on quality and acceptability.

Design/methodology/approach

Fish cutlets were prepared with varying mince and by-product ratios (100:0, 75:25, 50:50, 25:75 and 0:100 per cent) and the effect of by-product inclusion on composition, cooking characteristics, texture and acceptability were studied.

Findings

Cutlets from control group had highest values for protein, fat, diameter reduction, fat retention and height increase (29.9, 14.9, 7.6, 78.3 and 31.9 per cent) compared to other lots. Highest values for cooking yield (p > 0.01), lightness and whiteness were (92.7, 35.4 and 31.2 per cent) found in cutlets from 100 per cent BP lot. Hardness and shear force increased with by-product content (p < 0.01) being maximum in cutlets from 100 per cent BP lot. Though all the cutlets were acceptable, low sensory scores were recorded for 75 BP and 100 per cent BP lots (p > 0.01). By-products can be incorporated up to 50 per cent into fish cutlets without negatively affecting the eating quality.

Research limitations/implications

Amount of by-product to be added was the limitation during the work. More by-product content in the cutlets resulted in low-palatability. Total calcium content in the cutlets need to be checked as calcium content per serving should not be above the regulations.

Practical/implications

In general, nutritionally rich fish deboning by-product is used for cattle feeding or discarded into dumping grounds causing pollution, nutritional, as well as economic loss to the farmers. The findings of this study will be helpful to develop nutritionally rich and edible food products from this deboning by-product. Incorporation of by-product into cutlets will allow the farmers to sell their products at lower prices without compromising the profits, which will improve the marketing as well as consumption.

Social/implications

Utilization of fish deboning by-product to develop edible cutlets helps in reducing the operational costs, pollution and efficient utilization of process by-products.

Originality/value

The work is completely original in nature. The results reported are unique and the outcome of the research has social applicability.
On Indeterminacy and Growth under Progressive Taxation and Utility‐Generating Government Spending
Authors: Chen Shu‐Hua , Guo Jang‐Ting
Published: March 2017

We examine the theoretical interrelations between progressive income taxation and macroeconomic (in)stability in an otherwise standard one‐sector AK model of endogenous growth with utility‐generating government purchases of goods and services. In sharp contrast to traditional Keynesian‐type stabilization policies, progressive taxation operates like an automatic destabilizer that generates equilibrium indeterminacy and belief‐driven fluctuations in our endogenously growing macroeconomy. Unlike the no‐sustained‐growth counterpart, this instability result is obtained regardless of (i) the degree of the public‐spending preference externality and (ii) whether private and public consumption expenditures are substitutes, complements or additively separable in the household's utility function.
Statistical reporting of clinical pharmacology research
Authors: Ring Arne , Schall Robert , Loke Yoon K. , Day Simon
Published: March 2017

Research in clinical pharmacology covers a wide range of experiments, trials and investigations: clinical trials, systematic reviews and meta‐analyses of drug usage after market approval, the investigation of pharmacokinetic–pharmacodynamic relationships, the search for mechanisms of action or for potential signals for efficacy and safety using biomarkers. Often these investigations are exploratory in nature, which has implications for the way the data should be analysed and presented. Here we summarize some of the statistical issues that are of particular importance in clinical pharmacology research.
Does tea consumption during early pregnancy have an adverse effect on birth outcomes?
Authors: Lu Jin‐Hua , He Jian‐Rong , Shen Song‐Ying , Wei Xue‐Ling , Chen Nian‐Nian , Yuan Ming‐Yang , Qiu Lan , Li Wei‐Dong , Chen Qiao‐Zhu , Hu Cui‐Yue , Xia Hui‐Min , Bartington Suzanne , Cheng Kar Keung , Lam Kin Bong Hubert , Qiu Xiu ,   the Born in Guangzhou Cohort Study Group
Published: March 2017

Background

Tea, a common beverage, has been suggested to exhibit a number of health benefits. However, one of its active ingredients, caffeine, has been associated with preterm birth and low birthweight. We investigated whether tea consumption during early pregnancy is associated with an increased risk of preterm birth and abnormal fetal growth.

Methods

A total of 8775 pregnant women were included from the Born in Guangzhou Cohort Study. Tea consumption (type, frequency, and strength) during their first trimester and social and demographic factors were obtained by way of questionnaires administered during pregnancy. Information on birth outcomes and complications during pregnancy was obtained from hospital medical records.

Results

Overall habitual tea drinking (≥1 serving/week) prevalence among pregnant women was low, at 16%. After adjustment for potential confounding factors (eg, maternal age, educational level, monthly income) tea drinking during early pregnancy was not associated with an increased risk of preterm birth or abnormal fetal growth (small or large for gestational age) (P>.05).

Conclusions

We did not identify a consistent association between frequency of tea consumption or tea strength and adverse birth outcomes among Chinese pregnant women with low tea consumption. Our findings suggest that occasional tea drinking during pregnancy is not associated with increased risk of preterm birth or abnormal fetal growth. Given the high overall number of annual births in China, our findings have important public health significance.
Labor induction and cesarean delivery: A prospective cohort study of first births in Pennsylvania, USA
Authors: Kjerulff Kristen H. , Attanasio Laura B. , Edmonds Joyce K. , Kozhimannil Katy B. , Repke John T.
Published: March 2017

Background

Mode of delivery at first childbirth largely determines mode of delivery at subsequent births, so it is particularly important to understand risk factors for cesarean delivery at first childbirth. In this study, we investigated risk factors for cesarean delivery among nulliparous women, with focus on the association between labor induction and cesarean delivery.

Methods

A prospective cohort study of 2851 nulliparous women with singleton pregnancies who attempted vaginal delivery at hospitals in Pennsylvania, 2009‐2011, was conducted. We used nested logistic regression models and multiple mediational analyses to investigate the role of three groups of variables in explaining the association between labor induction and unplanned cesarean delivery—the confounders of maternal characteristics and indications for induction, and the mediating (intrapartum) factors—including cervical dilatation, labor augmentation, epidural analgesia, dysfunctional labor, dystocia, fetal intolerance of labor, and maternal request of cesarean during labor.

Results

More than a third of the women were induced (34.3%) and 24.8% underwent cesarean delivery. Induced women were more likely to deliver by cesarean (35.9%) than women in spontaneous labor (18.9%), unadjusted OR 2.35 (95% CI 1.97‐2.79). The intrapartum factors significantly mediated the association between labor induction and cesarean delivery (explaining 76.7% of this association), particularly cervical dilatation <3 cm at hospital admission, fetal intolerance of labor, and dystocia. The indications for labor induction only explained 6.2%.

Conclusions

Increased risk of cesarean delivery after labor induction among nulliparous women is attributable mainly to lower cervical dilatation at hospital admission and higher rates of labor complications.
Specific language impairment is associated with maternal and family factors
Authors: Diepeveen F. B. , van Dommelen P. , Oudesluys‐Murphy A. M. , Verkerk P. H.
Published: March 2017

Background

This study aimed to identify risk factors associated with specific language impairment (SLI).

Methods

In a nested case–control design, 253 children attending special needs schools for severe speech and language difficulties in the Netherlands were matched for sex and date of birth with 253 children attending mainstream education. Data on perinatal, maternal and family issues were retrieved from well‐child care files registered shortly after birth.

Results

Children with SLI had younger mothers than children in the control group (mean 30 years 9 months vs. mean 31 years 9 months) (P = 0.02). Children with SLI were less frequently breastfed directly after birth (55% vs. 71%) (P = 0.0007) and were less frequently firstborns (33.3% vs. 46.2%) (P = 0.002). No statistically significant differences were found for any of the other risk factors.

Conclusions

A relationship was found between SLI and maternal age, being breastfed and place in the birth order. Perinatal risk factors do not seem to be strongly associated with SLI.
Infectious complications in patients with myelodysplastic syndromes: A review of the literature with emphasis on patients treated with 5‐azacitidine
Authors: Radsak Markus , Platzbecker Uwe , Schmidt Cornelia S. , Hofmann Wolf‐Karsten , Nolte Florian
Published: March 2017

Myelodysplastic Syndromes are oligo‐clonal stem cell disorders that are associated with cytopenias in the peripheral blood. Major causes for morbidity and mortality in myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) patients are infections mostly due to bacteria or fungi. Beside leucopenia per se in affected patients, function of white blood cells particularly that of neutrophils seems to be impaired. Here we summarize the available data on infections in MDS patients in general and particularly those treated with 5‐azacitidine.
Retrospective evaluation of venous thromboembolism: Are all transient provoking events the same?
Authors: Chua Chong Chyn , Lim Hui Yin , Tacey Mark , Nandurkar Harshal , Ho Prahlad
Published: March 2017

Objectives

Venous thromboembolism (VTE) provoked by transient risk factors has traditionally been classified as a single entity with lower risk of recurrence. We evaluated the association between different categories of transient provoking factors and the relative risk of recurrence.

Methods

Retrospective evaluation of VTE events in non‐cancer patients from July 2011 to December 2012 at two tertiary institutions in Australia with a minimum follow‐up of 24 months.

Results

A total of 747 VTE cases were identified, and following exclusion of cases with mortality within 30 days of presentation (n=26), unprovoked cases (40.2%) had a higher risk of recurrence (4.6 vs 2.3/100 event‐years, P=.01). Provoking factors included surgery (40.4%), injury (16.7%), medical‐related factors including non‐surgical hospitalisation or active infection (22.0%), travel (13.2%) and oestrogen related (6.5%). Air travel had the highest recurrence rate of 5.9/100 event‐years, comparable to unprovoked VTE. VTE provoked by surgery showed lower recurrence rate at 1.8/100 event‐years (P=.03). 62.5% of patients with provoked VTE recurred with an unprovoked event.

Conclusion

Transient provoking factors for VTE are heterogeneous with varying potency and should not be considered a single entity. The high recurrence rate after travel‐provoked VTE suggests that it is a “minor,” if not negligible provoking factor with higher thrombotic predisposition.
Multiple Paternity Benefits Female Marbled Salamanders by Increasing Survival of Progeny to Metamorphosis
Authors: Croshaw Dean A. , Pechmann Joseph H. K. , Glenn Travis C.
Published: March 2017

Multiple paternity occurs in most species and animal groups that have been studied. Because mating involves fitness costs to individual females, theory predicts that polyandrous females gain greater fitness benefits than costs, allowing the behavior to be maintained. Genetic, rather than material, benefits often occur in species where males provide females with little more than sperm and seminal fluid. We compared fitness correlates of single‐ and double‐sire clutches from female marbled salamanders (Ambystoma opacum) at the egg, hatchling, and metamorph stages of offspring development. Because clutches were collected from experimental breeding groups, strict paternity exclusion of offspring using microsatellite data allowed us to categorize each clutch as having either one or two fathers. Early offspring viability and size of hatchlings were not different between single‐ and multiple‐paternity clutches. Larvae from the two clutch types were allowed to develop together in field enclosures until metamorphosis. Although there was no difference in size at metamorphosis, survival to metamorphosis was significantly higher in multiple‐paternity clutches (44% vs. 40%) suggesting a benefit for females. The results were consistent with genetic benefits, although maternal effects could not be ruled out. The data did not support predictions of the genetic bet‐hedging and good sperm hypotheses for genetic benefits of polyandry.
Sensitivity of community‐level trait–environment relationships to data representativeness: A test for functional biogeography
Authors: Borgy Benjamin , Violle Cyrille , Choler Philippe , Garnier Eric , Kattge Jens , Loranger Jessy , Amiaud Bernard , Cellier Pierre , Debarros Guilhem , Denelle Pierre , Diquelou Sylvain , Gachet Sophie , Jolivet Claudy , Lavorel Sandra , Lemauviel‐Lavenant Servane , Mikolajczak Alexis , Munoz François , Olivier Jean , Viovy Nicolas
Published: March 2017

Aim

The characterization of trait–environment relationships over broad‐scale gradients is a critical goal for ecology and biogeography. This implies the merging of plot and trait databases to assess community‐level trait‐based statistics. Potential shortcomings and limitations of this approach are that: (i) species traits are not measured where the community is sampled and (ii) the availability of trait data varies considerably across species and plots. Here we address the effect of trait data representativeness [the sampling effort per species and per plot] on the accuracy of (i) species‐level and (ii) community‐level trait estimates and (iii) the consequences for the shape and strength of trait–environment relationships across communities.

Innovation

We combined information existing in databases of vegetation plots and plant traits to estimate community‐weighted means [CWMs] of four key traits [specific leaf area, plant height, seed mass and leaf nitrogen content per dry mass] in permanent grasslands at a country‐wide scale. We propose a generic approach for systematic sensitivity analyses based on random subsampling and data reduction to address the representativeness of incomplete and heterogeneous trait information when exploring trait–environment relationships across communities.

Main conclusions

The accuracy of the CWMs was little affected by the number of individual trait values per species [NIV] but strongly affected by the cover proportion of species with available trait values [PCover]. A PCover above 80% was required for all four traits studied to obtain an estimation bias below 5%. Our approach therefore provides more conservative criteria than previously proposed. Restrictive criteria on both NIV and PCover primarily excluded communities in harsh environments, and such reduction of the sampled gradient weakened trait–environment relationships. These findings advocate systematic measurement campaigns in natural environments to increase species coverage in global trait databases, with special emphasis on species occurring in under‐sampled and harsh environmental conditions.
Role of hepcidin‐ferroportin axis in the pathophysiology, diagnosis, and treatment of anemia of chronic inflammation
Authors: Langer Arielle L. , Ginzburg Yelena Z.
Published: March 2017

Anemia of chronic inflammation (ACI) is a frequently diagnosed anemia and portends an independently increased morbidity and poor outcome associated with multiple underlying diseases. The pathophysiology of ACI is multifactorial, resulting from the effects of inflammatory cytokines which both directly and indirectly suppress erythropoiesis. Recent advances in molecular understanding of iron metabolism provide strong evidence that immune mediators, such as IL‐6, lead to hepcidin‐induced hypoferremia, iron sequestration, and decreased iron availability for erythropoiesis. The role of hepcidin‐ferroportin axis in the pathophysiology of ACI is stimulating the development of new diagnostics and targeted therapies. In this review, we present an overview of and rationale for inflammation‐, iron‐, and erythropoiesis‐related strategies currently in development.
Histoid leprosy: a retrospective clinicopathological study from central Nepal
Authors: Mathur Mahesh , Jha Ayush , Joshi Ruprerna , Wagle Roshani
Published: March 2017

Background

Histoid leprosy is a rare variant of lepromatous leprosy characterized by varied morphological and histopathological appearance while having a high bacillary load. These factors contribute to an ominous threat to the elimination status of leprosy, whereby these patients may act as a reservoir of infection.

Objective

To identify the clinicopathological characteristics of histoid leprosy in Chitwan, Nepal.

Methods

A retrospective hospital‐based study spanning a period of 6 years was carried out at our department. All cases clinically and histopathologically suggestive of histoid leprosy were included in our study, and all relevant data were recorded and analyzed as per standard protocol.

Results

Histoid leprosy comprised 2.9% of all leprosy cases. Mean age of 39.45 years and male:female ratio of 1.75:1 were seen. Previous history of leprosy was obtained in 72.7%, and de novo development of histoid leprosy took place in 27.3%. Papules were the most common lesion seen, and upper limbs were the most frequent site of involvement, and the ulnar nerve was enlarged in most cases. Mean bacillary index was 5.39. Histopathology showed epidermal atrophy, positive Fite‐Faraco stain for lepra bacilli, spindle‐shaped histiocytes arranged in various patterns, and a well‐circumscribed area of cells in the dermis in all cases. Grenz zone and pseudocapsule were seen in the majority of patients. All cases responded well to multibacillary multidrug therapy (MB‐MDT) of 2 years.

Conclusion

A high index of suspicion is essential for diagnosing histoid leprosy, both clinically and histopathologically.
Outcomes and predictors of harmful relapse following liver transplantation for alcoholic liver disease in an Australian population
Authors: Wigg Alan J. , Mangira Dileep , Chen John W. , Woodman Richard W.
Published: March 2017

Background

Limited studies of patient survival and alcoholic relapse following transplantation for alcoholic liver disease have been described in Australian populations.

Aim

To describe these outcomes in an Australian population, to determine the association between harmful alcoholic relapse and patient survival, and to examine pre‐transplant variables associated with harmful relapse.

Methods

Single centre, retrospective review of consecutive patients transplanted at the South Australian Liver Transplant Unit. Relapse was identified by an independent investigator using case note review and confidential patient questionnaire.

Results

A total of 87 patients (median age 52 years, 84% male, median Model for End‐Stage Liver Disease (MELD) score 18) was included in the study with a median follow‐up time of 50 months. The 1‐, 3‐ and 5‐year survival of patients was 93.1, 87.4 and 82.0% respectively. Two deaths were directly attributable to graft failure due to alcohol. Fourteen (16%) patients fulfilled criteria for harmful relapse and 18 (21%) patients experienced any form of relapse to alcohol. Harmful relapse was associated with increased mortality (hazard ratio (HR) 3.2, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.1–9.7, P = 0.041). Only two factors were independently associated with harmful relapse on multivariate analysis; prior alcohol rehabilitation (HR 8.4, 95% CI 2.5–28.4, P = 0.001) and single versus married status (HR 0.09, 95% CI 0.02–1.2, P = 0.019).

Conclusion

Good patient survival outcomes were seen for this South Australian population. Harmful alcohol relapse occurs in a minority of patients and rarely results in direct graft loss. Modifiable pre‐transplant factors that predict harmful relapse were not identified.
Tadpole begging reveals high quality
Authors: Dugas M. B. , Strickler S. A. , Stynoski J. L.
Published: March 2017

Parents can benefit from allocating limited resources nonrandomly among offspring, and offspring solicitation (i.e. begging) is often hypothesized to evolve because it contains information valuable to choosy parents. We tested the predictions of three ‘honest begging’ hypotheses – Signal of Need, Signal of Quality and Signal of Hunger – in the tadpoles of a terrestrial frog (Oophaga pumilio). In this frog, mothers provision tadpoles with trophic eggs, and when mothers visit, tadpoles perform a putative begging signal by stiffening their bodies and vibrating rapidly. We assessed the information content of intense tadpole begging with an experimental manipulation of tadpole condition (need/quality) and food deprivation (hunger). This experiment revealed patterns consistent with the Signal of Quality hypothesis and directly counter to predictions of Signal of Need and Signal of Hunger. Begging effort and performance were higher in more developed and higher condition tadpoles and declined with food deprivation. Free‐living mothers were unlikely to feed tadpoles of a nonbegging species experimentally cross‐fostered with their own, and allocated larger meals to more developed tadpoles and those that vibrated at higher speed. Mother O. pumilio favour their high‐quality young, and because their concurrent offspring are reared in separate nurseries, must do so by making active allocation decisions. Our results suggest that these maternal choices are based at least in part on offspring signals, indicating that offspring solicitation can evolve to signal high quality.
Measuring Language Mindsets and Modeling Their Relations With Goal Orientations and Emotional and Behavioral Responses in Failure Situations
Authors: Lou Nigel Mantou , Noels Kimberly A.
Published: March 2017

Some people ascribe successful language learning to an innate aptitude that cannot be further developed, at least after a certain young age (i.e., an entity mindset), while other people believe that language learning ability can be improved (i.e., an incremental mindset). The purpose of this research is to (a) introduce the Language Mindsets Inventory (LMI), and (b) test the mindsets–goals–responses model, which maintains that learners’ mindsets predict the goals that they set for language learning, and that these goals in turn affect how they respond to difficult academic and communication episodes. Correlational and factor analyses provided evidence of the LMI's valid and reliable use in research with university‐level language students. Path analyses showed that regardless of their competence level, greater endorsement of an incremental mindset was associated with the goal of learning more about the language, and this learning goal in turn predicted greater mastery and less helpless responses in failure situations. Greater endorsement of an entity mindset predicted the goal of demonstrating competence (i.e., performance approach goals) when students believed that they had stronger language skills. The use of the LMI in future research and the importance of supporting incremental mindsets for language education are discussed.
A Cautionary Tale About Control Variables in IV Estimation
Authors: Deuchert Eva , Huber Martin
Published: March 2017

Many instrumental variable (IV) regressions include control variables to justify (conditional) independence of the instrument and the potential outcomes. The plausibility of conditional IV independence crucially depends on the timing when the control variables are determined. This paper works through different IV models and discusses the (conditions for the) satisfaction of conditional IV independence depending on whether the control variables are measured prior to or after instrument assignment. To illustrate the identification issues, we consider the Vietnam War draft risk as instrument either for veteran status or education to evaluate the effects of these variables on labour market and health outcomes. Our empirical analysis based on the ‘Young Men in High School and Beyond’ survey suggests that commonly used conditional IV strategies to estimate the impact of draft induced military service or education may be severely biased due to the use of improper controls.