bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
The influence of timing, location and social setting on hedonic and emotional evaluations of past eating experiences
Authors: Nath Elizabeth Cassandra , Cannon Peter Robert , Philipp Michael Carl
Published: April 2020

Purpose

Our hedonic and emotional evaluations of the foods we encounter in daily life are predictive of whether we will choose to consume these foods in the future. Given the context-dependent nature of these evaluations and the rise in studies set in naturalistic and ecologically valid consumption settings, it is crucial that we examine the impact of contextual variables on our current consumer emotion measurement methods.

Design/methodology/approach

Three important factors that influence meal-evoked emotion – meal time, location and social setting – were explored via online survey of 866 English-speaking adults from all over the world. Respondents were asked to recall three meals they had consumed in the past week and report on their subjective liking and emotional associations. Subjective liking was measured with a labelled affective magnitude scale and emotion was measured using EsSense25.

Findings

Dinner meals, meals eaten at the home of a family member or friend, and meals eaten with one's spouse or partner were rated highest in subjective liking. Meals eaten at work or alone were associated with the lowest intensities of positive emotion.

Originality/value

The majority of investigations into meal context and emotion have measured consumers' emotional associations in the moment and in the laboratory. The present study characterises the influence of contextual variables on the emotional associations of past eating experiences in naturalistic settings.
Business development through knowledge sharing among members of sectoral committees
Authors: Aljuwaiber Abobakr
Published: April 2020

Purpose

This paper is an empirical study examining how sectoral committees function as knowledge networks within CCIs in Saudi Arabia. It employs the Madinah Chambers of Commerce and Industry (MCCI) branch as a case study. The research examines the influence of individual factors (taking pleasure in helping others, knowledge of self-efficacy, and outcome expectations), and organisational factors (top management support and knowledge sharing culture) on knowledge sharing, to establish whether knowledge sharing assists in the business development of the members of sectoral committees.

Design/methodology/approach

The research uses a quantitative methodology to investigate how knowledge sharing between sectoral committee members can assist in the development of their businesses and industries.

Findings

This research provides valuable information regarding the role of knowledge sharing among sectoral committee members and addresses the challenges facing business owners in sectoral committees. Precisely, the results of the survey showed that knowledge sharing in the CCI was considered crucial.

Research limitations/implications

The research model was confined to the MCCI and using Saudi Arabia as a context of study, which has a unique organisational culture that influenced the participants' perceptions regarding knowledge sharing, and therefore cannot be generalised to other organisations. Further investigation of knowledge sharing using samples from other countries would give a more robust examination of the studied hypotheses.

Practical implications

The results provided in this research indicated that the activity of knowledge sharing impacts members' business development. This suggests that enhancing knowledge sharing among members of sectoral committees would support the creation of new ideas that were beneficial to improving their business and investments.

Originality/value

To the best of the author's knowledge, this study is the first to investigate the role of knowledge sharing in business development among sectoral committees, particularly within Saudi Arabian CCIs, and is thus able to offer new insight into existing knowledge sharing in sectoral committees in non-Western contexts.
Market reactions to CSR news in different industries
Authors: Pérez Andrea , García de los Salmones María del Mar , López-Gutiérrez Carlos
Published: April 2020

Purpose

Based on the premises of the institutional theory, in this paper, we explore the effects that the media coverage of positive and negative Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) news have on the stock market value of companies in diverse industries.

Design/methodology/approach

Using a sample of 195 online articles published in the most important Spanish business newspaper, we implement an event study and a regression analysis.

Findings

The findings show that positive and negative CSR news, usually, have significant impacts on the stock market value of companies. Specifically, the market reaction is stronger under the announcement of negative news in all industries (i.e. basic, energy, finance and goods and services), although positive news also cause significant positive stock market reactions in the finance and basic industries.

Originality/value

Although the media plays an indispensable role in the dialogue around CSR, much of the research focused on the role of the media on the CSR-CFP link does not consider how the industry variable can affect the abnormal stock returns derived from CSR news. This research contributes to this gap in the literature by exploring the differences that exist in the stock market reactions to CSR news based on the industry in which the companies operate.
Women managing women: hierarchical relationships and career impact
Authors: Abalkhail Jouharah M.
Published: April 2020

Purpose

This paper explores the experiences of women in Saudi Arabia who have been managed by other women, and examines how junior women perceive senior women's role in advancing their career.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper is based on qualitative data gathered using in-depth semi-structured interviews undertaken with 30 women working in Saudi public organisations.

Findings

This study's findings shows that the hierarchical relationships between women and their woman manager are complex due to a multifaceted web of contextual factors including sociocultural values, family values, religious beliefs and organisational cultures and structures. These factors shape the quality of relationships between senior women and their women subordinates. Also, this study reveals that there is solidarity and ‘sisterly’ relationship between women in the workplace that plays a role in facilitating women's career development and advancement. In addition, this study shows that despite senior women's having supported other women's career advancement, this support tended to be conditional and limited. This can have an influence on women-to-women work relationships, where such relationships can be described as being disconnected and fragile. Furthermore, the study depict that there is evidence of the existence of ‘Queen Bee’-like senior women who distance themselves from other women and block their career advancement. The Queen Bee phenomena can actually become a form of hierarchy that mimics the patriarchal structure and excludes women from serving at top management levels.

Originality/value

This paper provides an in-depth understanding of the hierarchical relationships between women in the workplace and how these relationships have an influence on women's career advancement. Therefore, the paper makes a valuable contribution to the scarce knowledge that currently exists within the field of management research in relation to women's career development – and the advancement of such research within the Arab Middle Eastern context. Also, the findings of this study could potentially inform practitioners and HR department personnel within organisations about the connections between women's hierarchical workplace relationships and women's career development and advancement.
Customers’ experienced product quality: scale development and validation
Authors: Das Guru Ramesh Roshan , Paulssen Marcel
Published: April 2020

Purpose

Product quality is a central construct in several management domains. Theoretical conceptualizations of product quality unanimously stress its multidimensional nature. Yet, no generalizable, multidimensional product quality scale exists. This study develops and validates a multidimensional Customers’ experienced product quality (CEPQ) scale, across four diverse product categories.

Design/methodology/approach

Based on the exploratory studies, CEPQ is conceptualized as a second-order reflective-formative construct and validated in quantitative studies with survey data collected in the USA.

Findings

Results reveal that the CEPQ scale and its underlying quality dimensions possess sound psychometric properties. In addition, CEPQ has a substantial impact on customer behavior over and above customer satisfaction. The strength of this impact is positively moderated by expertise and quality consciousness. CEPQ predicts objective quality scores from consumer reports substantially better than the existing measures of product quality.

Research limitations/implications

The cross-sectional nature of the main study, as well as samples from only one country, restricts the generalizability of the findings.

Practical implications

Operations managers and marketers should start to measure CEPQ as an additional key metric. The formative weights of the first-order quality dimensions explain how customers define product quality in a specific product category.

Originality/value

A generalizable, multidimensional scale of product quality, CEPQ, is developed and validated. Materials as a new product quality dimension is identified. Once correctly measured, product quality ceases to be a mere input to satisfaction. Boundary conditions for CEPQ’s relevance were hypothesized and confirmed.
A moderated mediation analysis of the effect of lettering case and color temperature on trustworthiness perceptions and investment decisions
Authors: Song Yao , Luximon Yan , Luo Jing
Published: April 2020

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to test the theoretical framework of lettering case, color temperature, perceived trustworthiness and investment intentions. First, it aims to test whether the effect of lettering case on investment intentions is mediated by trustworthiness. Second, the study will examine if this process is moderated by color temperature.

Design/methodology/approach

Following the behavioral research method, this study employed a 2 (the fully-lowercase slogan vs the initial-uppercase slogan) by 2 (warm-color design vs cool-color design) full factorial between-subject design. Two hundred participants were recruited for the experiment to test the hypotheses.

Findings

For the lowercase slogans (vs uppercase slogans), we found that people tended to have a high level of perceived trustworthiness, which led to a high level of investment intentions. In addition, the indirect effect of the lettering case on investment intentions through the perceived trustworthiness was moderated by color temperature. Specifically, the visually warm advertisement (vs visually cool design) would strengthen the effect of lowercase slogans on customers' investment intentions.

Originality/value

When people make a financial decision with limited, incomplete or overly complex information, simplified visual heuristics, rather than rational algorithmic processing, play a significant role in their decision-making process. However, only a limited amount of research has addressed the effect of the lettering case on customers' perceptions and the consequent decision-making process from a financial advertising perspective. This study tries to supplement and extend the visual heuristics theory, highlighting the role of simplified heuristics, rather than rational algorithmic processing, in financial customers' decision-making process.
A traditional protestant church experiencing substantial membership decline: an organizational strength analysis and observations to attend or leave the institution
Authors: Fowler David , Musgrave Jon , Musgrave Jill
Published: April 2020

Purpose

This organizational climate empirical case study involves a religious organization in the United States of America, which has experienced a substantial decline in membership and weekly service participation numbers over the previous five years. The purpose of this qualitative case study is to reveal motivating factors that drive parishioners to leave or stay within a traditional protestant congregation and to uncover the strengths and weaknesses within the organization.

Design/methodology/approach

The methodology behind the study considers personal observation by the author and engages current and former members of the organization as well as front-line employees and senior leadership. Qualitative essays were completed through Qualtrics by participants and analyzed with the use of MAXQDA software for thematic frequency and organization.

Findings

During analysis, correlations were found to exist between the church's membership decline and ineffectiveness of senior leadership. Also, it is quite evident that the church's strengths were found in the quality of its members and the relationships they developed. This was found to be a significant motivation to stay within the organization.

Originality/value

The study provides value to practitioners within organizational development fields. Usage of this knowledge could assist in providing insights into possible reasons why religious organizations falter under ineffective leadership, which in turn could provide opportunities to implement improvements based on discoveries.
Innovative leadership in leisure and entertainment industry
Authors: Bodolica Virginia , Spraggon Martin , Saleh Nadia
Published: April 2020

Purpose

Innovative undertakings play a critical role in the economic value creation and wealth generation of a nation. This paper aims to contribute to the literature that positions innovation at the core of the tourism industry in the context of emerging markets.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors adopt a case study approach and draw on secondary sources of data to examine how the UAE is reaping the benefits of innovation to transform itself into a leading international leisure and entertainment hub.

Findings

The strategy of significant financial investment in complex mega-projects and major infrastructure development have offered the UAE a relative advantage over other industry giants worldwide. Nonetheless, the local government should continue tapping into the multiple and diverse opportunities that product/service and process innovation has to offer if the UAE ambitions to enhance its competitiveness and acquire the status of a global tourism hub.

Originality/value

While most research efforts to date focused on Western markets, this study contributes to the development of a knowledge base about the role of innovation in the tourism industry in emerging market settings.
Information asymmetry and dividend policy of Sarbanes-Oxley Act
Authors: Harakeh Mostafa , Matar Ghida , Sayour Nagham
Published: April 2020

Purpose

The literature of financial economics documents a causal relationship between the level of information asymmetry in the firm and its dividend policy. Nevertheless, this relationship suffers endogeneity problems arising from reverse causality and omitted variable bias. The purpose of this study is to examine how the dividend policy reacts to changes in asymmetric information in an exogenous research setting.

Design/methodology/approach

To overcome endogeneity concerns, the authors employ the enactment of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX) in the US in 2002 as a source of an exogenous variation in the level of information asymmetry to study the potential effect that this variation might have on the dividend policy. In doing so, we utilize a difference-in-differences research design, in which the treatment group is US publicly traded firms that were exposed to the policy and the control group is publicly traded companies in the UK where SOX was not enacted. Both countries have similar institutional settings and enforcement of laws, which makes them comparable in this research context.

Findings

The authors’ findings show that, compared to UK companies, US firms increase their dividend payments following a reduction in asymmetric information as a result of the SOX enactment.

Originality/value

The study contributes to the literature of financial economics by showing that policy makers can mitigate agency conflicts and protect shareholders by improving the corporate information environment and reducing asymmetric information.
You are what you wear: examining the multidimensionality of religiosity and its influence on attitudes and intention to buy Muslim fashion clothing
Authors: Aruan Daniel Tumpal H. , Wirdania Iin
Published: April 2020

Purpose

Muslim fashion clothing has become an attractive market both for marketers and fashion designers. When it comes to faith, religiosity factor becomes important; thus, it should be incorporated as a predictor for consumers' attitude and purchase intention. The purpose of this research is to examine the extent to which religiosity influences consumers' decision making when buying Muslim clothes. This research also examines whether religiosity could be observed from the type of clothes consumers wear.

Design/methodology/approach

The research was conducted in Indonesia as it was the most populous Muslim country in the world. Research subjects were Muslim women who wear Muslim clothes, both sharia and non-sharia.

Findings

A total of 379 Muslim women respondents participated in the survey. Using the structural equation model, the analysis finds that religiosity has a significant effect on consumers' buying decision, but the mediating influence of affective attitude and self-presentation is only found partially for specific types of clothes. The managerial implications of these findings are discussed in this paper.

Practical implications

Findings of this research would benefit Muslim clothes marketers and designers to correctly approach their target markets. Marketers can infer the religiosity level of consumers from the clothes they wear so that marketers need to provide communication programs with religious messages that could arouse consumers' affective attitudes that ultimately lead to buying decision. Marketers can focus more on handling their target customers based on the type of clothing segment: sharia and non-sharia.

Originality/value

This study discovered that, with respect to Muslim clothes, the five dimensions of religiosity promoted by Faulkner and De Jong (1966) can be reduced to two factors, namely faith and deeds. In addition, this study revealed that religiosity is strongly correlated with the type of clothing consumers wear so that marketers can implement strategies that are suitable for their target market.
Evaluating garments in augmented reality when shopping online
Authors: Baytar Fatma , Chung Telin , Shin Eonyou
Published: April 2020

Purpose

Augmented Reality (AR) integrates computer-generated images to a physical environment in real-time. Online apparel shopping presents some product-related risks, as consumers can neither physically see and touch the products nor try them on. The present study examined whether AR conveys reliable apparel product information in terms of fit, size, and product performance; and how AR affects attitudes toward apparel and purchase intentions when shopping online.

Design/methodology/approach

This research was designed as a within-subject quasi-experimental study using repeated measures in two conditions: virtual try-on using the AR technology vs. physical try-on. A scenario was developed to help participants imagine themselves shopping online for a specific dress.

Findings

Results indicated that size and color of dresses were conveyed accurately when utilizing AR as compared to physical try-on. Visual attributes such as style, garment details, and coordination with other items were found to be satisfactorily predicted when AR was employed. Overall, attitudes towards both AR and real dress, and purchase intentions were favorable. Participants with higher telepresence levels were found to have more positive attitudes towards the dress and greater purchase intentions when using AR as compared to the participants with low telepresence levels.

Research limitations/implications

Our findings implied that AR can provide enough information especially for garment sizes and visual characteristics when making purchase decisions. AR technology can be instrumental in introducing a certain style, building positive attitudes towards products, and driving sales, when the consumers perceive a certain level of “being there”. This study was limited to female students in North America. Also, because a single stimulus was used, the results cannot be generalized to other stimuli.

Originality/value

Our study findings showed that participants were able to select the right garment size by using AR. The average ratings for visual characteristics such as style and detail were above the neutral level when using AR; indicating that participants can understand visual attributes in AR when shopping online. Moreover, in the AR condition participants with higher telepresence levels had higher attitudes towards the garment and purchase intentions as compared to the participants with low telepresence. AR can be instrumental for online apparel shopping. Retailers need to understand the potentials of these technologies and work with technology developers to enhance consumers' experiences.
Chief executive officer retirement and auditor’s risk assessment
Authors: Abdulmalik Salau Olarinoye , Amran Noor Afza , Che-Ahmad Ayoib
Published: April 2020

Purpose

This study aims to examine the unique nature of family firms by investigating the moderating effect of chief executive officer (CEO) identity on CEO career horizon and the auditor’s client risk assessment. Consistent with literature on family businesses, the level of CEO attachment to socio-emotional wealth (SEW) varies among family businesses.

Design/methodology/approach

This study used a longitudinal sample of 2,063 non-financial family firm-year observations from 2005 to 2016 listed on the Bursa Malaysia. The study used the general method of moments (GMM), which controls for endogeneity concerns.

Findings

The results reveal that, without the moderating effect of CEO identity, the relationship between CEO career horizon and auditor’s risk assessment is positive, which suggests that the auditor’s risk perception of retiring CEOs is very high. However, the interaction of CEO identity reverses the relationship as evidenced by the negative and significant coefficient on the interacted terms. The finding suggests that the auditor’s perceived risk associated with CEO career horizon is lower in family firms with CEOs affiliated to family members or in which the CEO has an equity stake. Overall, the findings provide compelling evidence that the extent of the CEO’s attachment to the firm’s SEW affects the auditor’s client risk assessment.

Practical implications

The findings of the study serve as an enlightenment to policymakers such as Bursa Malaysia and Security Commission that within the family-controlled firms, differences still exist; therefore, there might be a need for future regulatory initiative to cater for the specific need of family-controlled firms.

Originality/value

The study contributes to prior literature by departing from the agency theory adopted in previous studies on auditor choice in family firms under the assumption that family firms are homogenous.
Viewpoint: service marketing research priorities
Authors: Grönroos Christian
Published: April 2020

Purpose

This paper aims to emphasize two key research priorities central to the domain of service marketing.

Design/methodology/approach

Reflections based on conceptual analysis of the current level of knowledge of service as an offering and of the nature of service marketing in the literature.

Findings

It is observed that research into marketing and into service as an object of marketing, or as an offering, has been neglected for two decades and more. It is also shown that to restore its credibility, marketing needs to be reinvented. Furthermore, the point is made that if a proper understanding of service as an object of, for example, innovation, design, branding and development is lacking, or even only implicitly present, valid research into those and other important topics is at risk.

Research limitations/implications

This paper discusses two neglected topics within the domain of service research. Other important areas of future research are not covered. However, the paper offers directions for service marketing research fundamental to the development of the discipline.

Originality/value

In earlier discussions of service and service marketing research priorities, the observation that service and marketing are neglected topics that need to be studied and further developed has not been made. The paper emphasizes that service marketing research also needs to return to its roots and suggests possible directions for future research.
Deep neural networks for Arabic information extraction
Authors: Saadi Abdelhalim , Belhadef Hacene
Published: April 2020

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to present a system based on deep neural networks to extract particular entities from natural language text, knowing that a massive amount of textual information is electronically available at present. Notably, a large amount of electronic text data indicates great difficulty in finding or extracting relevant information from them.

Design/methodology/approach

This study presents an original system to extract Arabic-named entities by combining a deep neural network-based part-of-speech tagger and a neural network-based named entity extractor. Firstly, the system extracts the grammatical classes of the words with high precision depending on the context of the word. This module plays the role of the disambiguation process. Then, a second module is used to extract the named entities.

Findings

Using deep neural networks in natural language processing, requires tuning many hyperparameters, which is a time-consuming process. To deal with this problem, applying statistical methods like the Taguchi method is much requested. In this study, the system is successfully applied to the Arabic-named entities recognition, where accuracy of 96.81 per cent was reported, which is better than the state-of-the-art results.

Research limitations/implications

The system is designed and trained for the Arabic language, but the architecture can be used for other languages.

Practical implications

Information extraction systems are developed for different applications, such as analysing newspaper articles and databases for commercial, political and social objectives. Information extraction systems also can be built over an information retrieval (IR) system. The IR system eliminates irrelevant documents and paragraphs.

Originality/value

The proposed system can be regarded as the first attempt to use double deep neural networks to increase the accuracy. It also can be built over an IR system. The IR system eliminates irrelevant documents and paragraphs. This process reduces the mass number of documents from which the authors wish to extract the relevant information using an information extraction system.
‘My life's properly beginning’: young people with a terminally ill parent talk about the future
Authors: Turner Nicola
Published: April 2020

This paper explores how young people who are living with a parent who is dying talk about the future. Drawing on a qualitative, interview study, I argue that young people are able to move imaginatively beyond the death of a parent, and in doing so, to maintain a sense of biographical continuity. While thinking about the future, most were able to generate an alternative to the ‘harm story’ typically associated with parental loss. Furthermore, the facility to engage with parental absence in the present enabled young people to make sense of living with dying, and gave meaning to their imagined futures. These findings suggest that young people's narratives of the future may act as a symbolic resource to draw on, albeit one requiring adequate material and social resources to construct. The paper extends the notion of continuing bonds derived from post‐bereavement accounts to suggest that relational experiences of the dead begin prior to bereavement, and may facilitate everyday living in anticipation of significant loss. Enabling young people to imaginatively explore the future may support them in getting by when they are living in these difficult family circumstances.
Britain's Biggest Wartime Stoppage: The Origins of the Engineering Strike of May 1917
Authors: STEVENSON DAVID
Published: April 2020

This article re‐examines the causes of the May 1917 engineering strike, the biggest strike in Britain during the First World War. Besides official files, it uses private papers and the records of the Amalgamated Society of Engineers. The stoppage began in sympathy with sacked employees at Tweedale & Smalley in Rochdale, who were resisting the spread of ‘dilution’ (replacing skilled by unskilled workers) from military contracts to private and commercial work. A second major issue was the government's replacement of the ‘trade card’ scheme protecting skilled engineers from military service. These issues would have been easier to resolve had it not been for underlying war weariness and falling real earnings, as well as uncertainty over whether skilled men could regain their pre‐1914 employment privileges. The strike was unofficial, and would not have spread so far and fast without local leadership from shop stewards, though this later proved a source of weakness. None the less, although the strike initially seemed a failure, it frightened the government and elicited major concessions. In part this was because Prime Minister David Lloyd George accepted that he must combine repression with the alleviation of legitimate grievances.
Improvement of clinical outcomes in dialysis: No convincing superiority in dialysis efficacy using hemodiafiltration vs high‐flux hemodialysis
Authors: Abdelsalam Mostafa , Demerdash Tarek M. , Assem Mohammed , Awais Muhammad , Shaheen Mahmoud , Sabri Ayman , Alanany Hany , Kashgary Abdullah , Alsuwaida Abdulkareem
Published: April 2020

Hemodiafiltration (HDF) is not associated with lower mortality risk compared to standard hemodialysis (HD). However, there are many critical clinical outcomes in dialysis patients in addition to mortality; the impact of HDF on these other outcomes is not clear. This retrospective study included all patients referred to DaVita Clinics in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. High‐flux HD was the initial modality in all patients. Those who did not achieve adequacy targets or those with poorly controlled phosphorus were switched to postdilution HDF using 18 to 23 L exchange per treatment. Patients dialyzing with a central venous catheter, patients who dialyzed less than 90 days at DaVita, and those with interrupted HDF were excluded. Of the 1115 patients, 215 (19%) were on HDF and 900 on high‐flux HD; the median follow‐up was 6 months for all patients. The HDF group showed a significant reduction in serum phosphate (P < .001), a significant increase in serum calcium (P < .012) and a significant improvement in Kt/V (P < .0001). The HDF group had significantly higher hemoglobin levels than the HD group (P = .024), with a significant reduction in weekly erythropoiesis‐stimulating agent dose after starting HDF (P < .001). A modified protocol that included prolonged dialysis duration, larger‐sized dialyzer, faster blood flow rates, and adding hemofiltration fluid may be helpful in achieving the recommended targets. Thus, HDF can enable the achievement of adequate dialysis care in some patients. Randomized‐controlled clinical trials are necessary to confirm these findings.
Balloon catheter use for cervical ripening in women with term pre‐labor rupture of membranes: A 5‐year cohort study
Authors: Kruit Heidi , Tolvanen Jenna , Eriksson Jasmin , Place Katariina , Nupponen Irmeli , Rahkonen Leena
Published: April 2020

Introduction

To investigate the safety of balloon catheter for cervical ripening in women with term pre‐labor rupture of membranes (PROM) and to compare the incidence of maternal and neonatal infections in women with PROM and women with intact membranes undergoing cervical ripening with a balloon catheter.

Material and methods

This retrospective cohort study of 1923 women with term singleton pregnancy and an unfavorable cervix undergoing cervical ripening with a balloon catheter was conducted in Helsinki University Hospital between January 2014 and December 2018. For each case of PROM, two controls were assigned. The main outcome measures were the rates of maternal and neonatal infections. Statistical analyses were performed by SPSS.

Results

In all, 641 (33.3%) women following PROM and 1282 (66.6%) women with intact amniotic membranes underwent labor induction. The rates of intrapartum infection (3.7% vs 7.7%; P = .001) and neonatal infection (1.7% vs 3.8%; P = .01) were not increased in women induced by balloon catheter following PROM. Intrapartum infections were associated with nulliparity (odds ratio [OR] 3.3, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.6‐6.5), history of previous cesarean section (OR 2.8, 95% CI 1.2‐6.4), extended gestational age ≥41 weeks (OR 1.9, 95% CI 1.2‐3.0) and an induction to delivery interval of 48 hours or more (OR 2.0, 95% CI 1.2‐3.3). The risk of neonatal infection was associated with nulliparity (OR 3.3, 95% CI 1.4‐8.0), gestational age ≥41 weeks (OR 1.9, 95% CI 1.09‐3.36) and induction to delivery interval of 48 hours or more (OR 3.4, 95% CI 1.9‐6.0).

Conclusions

Use of balloon catheter in women with term PROM appears safe and was not associated with increased maternal or neonatal infectious morbidity.
Impact of a national genetic carrier‐screening program for reproductive purposes
Authors: Singer Amihood , Sagi‐Dain Lena
Published: April 2020

Introduction

The Israeli population, encompassing 9 million citizens, is comprised of diverse communities. The Ministry of Health genetic screening program for reproductive purposes was introduced in 2013. This program is mainly aimed at severe incurable diseases with high rates of infant and childhood morbidity and/or mortality, with a carrier frequency of at least 1:60 and/or a disease frequency of 1 in 15 000 live births. In this paper, we present the results of the national genetic carrier‐screening program implementation.

Material and methods

Data acquisition for this study was performed by retrospectively searching Ministry of Health database, which includes the reports of 18 genetic laboratories performing genetic screening tests.

Results

During 2015‐2017, a total of 919 820 carrier‐screening genetic tests were executed. The overall number rose by 14.9% over these years. For about two‐thirds of the presented disorders, carrier frequency was within the expected range. A decrease of 57% was noted in the observed number of patients with spinal muscular atrophy born during 2014‐2017, compared with the expected rate. Familial dysautonomia, Canavan and Tay‐Sachs diseases yielded a very low prevalence.

Conclusions

Our results highlight the impact of a national genetic carrier‐screening program. Couples at risk of an affected fetus mostly choose to perform preconception or prenatal diagnosis and to act accordingly. Our country has several characteristics enabling us to achieve this success, including considerable rates of endogamy and consanguineous marriages, increased frequency of founder mutations, and high fertility rates. In addition, wide accessibility of the tests and good compliance of the population must be noted. Still, raising the awareness and continuing education of population and caregivers about the importance and efficiency of carrier screening remains an important issue. Finally, expanding the existing tests into a uniform, wide genetic panel seems to be the next goal.
Feasibility, efficacy, and safety of cell‐free and concentrated ascites reinfusion therapy (KM‐CART) for malignant ascites
Authors: Matsusaki Keisuke , Orihashi Kazumasa
Published: April 2020

Efficacy for alleviating signs/symptoms of malignant ascites of a renovated CART (cell‐free and concentrated ascites reinfusion therapy) system, called KM‐CART, was evaluated. A total of 4781 KM‐CART procedures were performed in 2109 patients. All patients were accepted unless hemodynamically unstable or consciousness impaired. The ascites were processed and drip‐infused into the patient. There were no major complications or deaths. The mean drainage volume was 6.2 L (maximum: 27.7 L), patient symptoms (numerical scale system) were significantly alleviated (45.1 ± 19.0 reduced to 21.2 ± 14.2, P < .001), and patient leg circumference significantly decreased (33.3 ± 4.4 cm reduced to 30.5 ± 4.4 cm, P < .001) without exacerbation of renal function. Collected cancer cells could be utilized for immune therapy. KM‐CART is capable of improving the “quality of best supportive care” and can be beneficial in conjunction with medication for alleviating malignant pain.
The predictive value of serum free light chain level early after allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation for chronic graft‐versus‐host disease, a preliminary study
Authors: Wang Bingjie , Liang Zeyin , Liu Wei , Sun Yuhua , Cen Xi’nan , Dong Yujun , Ren Hanyun
Published: April 2020

Objective

Serum free light chain (FLC) level is closely associated with the functional state of B lymphocytes, and many studies have shown that delayed reconstitution of B lymphocytes contributed to chronic graft‐versus‐host disease (cGVHD). This study assessed the predictive value of FLC levels in serum collected early after allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (allo‐HSCT) for cGVHD.

Methods

Sixty‐two patients who had undergone allo‐HSCT were retrospectively reviewed. The correlations between the FLC levels and the development of cGVHD were explored.

Results

Of the 62 patients, 33 cases developed cGVHD, with the prevalence of 53.2%. With Seattle classification, 19 cases had limited cGVHD while 14 cases contracted extensive cGVHD. While with NIH classification, 17 cases had mild cGVHD, 6 cases moderate cGVHD, and 10 cases severe cGVHD. Multivariant statistical analysis showed that the FLC levels were not associated with all severities of cGVHD but were correlated with the development of extensive or moderate to severe cGVHD (P = .01 and .038, respectively).

Conclusions

Serum FLC levels early after HSCT may reflect the functional state of B‐cell reconstitution. Patients with low serum FLC Level early post‐allo‐HSCT tend to develop extensive cGVHD or moderate to severe cGVHD.
Triple collision tumor comprising Merkel cell carcinoma with an unusual immunophenotype, squamous cell carcinoma in situ, and basal cell carcinoma
Authors: Hobbs Misty M. , Geers Tyler E. , Brown Timothy S. , Malone Janine C.
Published: April 2020

Merkel cell carcinoma (MCC) is a rare, aggressive primary cutaneous neuroendocrine cancer which almost always exhibits the cytokeratin (CK)20+/thyroid transcription factor (TTF)‐1‐ immunophenotype. MCC may occur concurrently with squamous cell carcinoma, Bowen disease, and/or basal cell carcinoma (BCC), with some evidence that MCCs which occur in conjunction with other neoplasms exhibit different immunophenotypes compared to pure MCC cases. We present a case of CK20‐/TTF‐1+ MCC concurrent with Bowen disease and BCC, and discuss possible differences in the pathogenesis of pure vs combined MCC. We also review the literature for this unusual immunophenotype, noting that most cases occur in combined MCC.
An adolescent with an abdominal mass
Authors: Kumar Pankaj , Gupta Parikshaa , Priyaranjan Prashant , Rastogi Pulkit , Bhujade Harish , Rajwanshi Arvind
Published: April 2020

Hepatoblastoma, is a rare primary hepatic malignancy, most commonly seen in infants and children less than 3 years of age. We present a rare case of mixed fetal‐embryonal hepatoblastoma.
Etizolam: A rapid review on pharmacology, non‐medical use and harms
Authors: Nielsen Suzanne , McAuley Andrew
Published: April 2020

Issues

Etizolam is a thienodiazepine derivative, with high affinity for the benzodiazepine site of GABAA receptors. It is often referred to as a new (or novel) psychoactive substance, a ‘designer’ benzodiazepine or a ‘street benzodiazepine’. Increasing reports of non‐medical use, identification of etizolam as an ingredient in counterfeit medications and the common identification of etizolam in drug‐related deaths, highlight the need for a greater understanding of etizolam.

Approach

A rapid narrative review was conducted using PubMed and Google Scholar to synthesise what is known about etizolam to answer two research questions: (i) Does the pharmacological or toxicological profile of etizolam differ from other benzodiazepines?; and (ii) What is the nature and context of non‐medical use and harms related to etizolam?

Key Findings

Etizolam has a higher potency as an anxiolytic but lower lethality compared with diazepam. Few harms are documented with the therapeutic use of pharmaceutical products. Harms appear to be predominantly related to the use of etizolam in illicitly manufactured pills and occur almost exclusively in the context of mixed‐drug toxicity.

Conclusion

In therapeutic doses, there is little to suggest that etizolam is more harmful than other benzodiazepines. Most harms with etizolam appear to be related to the wide availability of illicitly manufactured pills, which are taken in unknown doses and combined with other substances. Current harm reduction advice, including avoiding combining opioids and benzodiazepines, remains relevant and increasingly important within an emerging culture of non‐medical use.
Optimal Purchasing Policy for Fresh Products from Multiple Supply Sources with Considerations of Random Delivery Times, Risk, and Information
Authors: Xu Xiaolin , Cai Xiaoqiang , Zhang Lianmin
Published: April 2020

We consider a problem in which a distributor purchases fresh products from multiple supply sources for subsequent sale at a wholesale market. Due to uncontrollable factors such as traffic congestion or bad weather conditions, the time taken for the product to be delivered from each production origin is uncertain. As the wholesale market is open for trading only in a fixed‐time window, any fresh products arriving earlier face the risk of decay, and any arriving later cannot be sold. The market demand for the product is random and follows a general distribution. We formulate the basic problem as a multi‐source selection model with random yield, taking into account the trade‐off between purchasing cost and other costs such as deterioration loss arising from delivery uncertainty. We derive the optimal order quantities from different origins and propose algorithms to search for them. We also investigate the effects of delivery uncertainty on service level and transport mode selection. Finally, we examine two extensions. One considers a capacity limit in each production origin, and the other incorporates information updating. For the first extension, we propose algorithms to compute the optimal solution based on its structural properties. For the second problem, we derive the optimal purchasing policy according to updated information such as details of the arrivals of previous orders.
Detection and intervention in emerging youth mental health issues: Outcomes from the first year of the CASPAR service
Authors: Yang Rachel , Curtis Jackie , Jensen Candice , Levy Philippa , Chown Karen , Lappin Julia M.
Published: April 2020

Objective

There is a recognized gap in mental health service provision for youth, a population in whom emerging mental disorders are prevalent and recognized as a target for early intervention. Comprehensive Assessment Service for Psychosis and At‐Risk (CASPAR) is a new, community‐based service aiming to address the service gap between headspace and tertiary psychiatric services. CASPAR facilitates assessment and short‐term early intervention in youth (aged 12‐25 years) with emerging mental health issues. Demographic and clinical characteristics are described in all individuals receiving care from CASPAR in its first year of operation. Changes in psychological distress and psychosocial functioning over the course of a treatment episode are reported.

Methods

Demographic and clinical data, including measures of functional impairment (Social and Occupational Functioning Assessment Scale [SOFAS]) and psychological distress (Kessler Psychological Distress Scale [K10]), were obtained at baseline and completion of episode of care for all clients.

Results

92 young people (53.3% male, mean age 18.7 years) were included, of whom 20 (21.7%) disengaged before treatment endpoint. Clients who disengaged early were more likely to identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender+ (LGBT+). At follow‐up, 61.1% showed improvements in social functioning (SOFAS) and 64.4% in psychological distress (K10).

Conclusions

The majority of clients showed improvements in psychological distress and functioning during an episode of care. LGBT+ youth were less likely to remain engaged with the service. The factors associated with initial and continued engagement with youth early intervention services require further examination, particularly in marginalized groups with high mental illness prevalence such as LGBT+ communities.
Acute myeloid leukemia with inv(3)(q21.3q26.2)/t(3;3)(q21.3;q26.2): Study of 61 patients treated with intensive protocols
Authors: Sitges Marta , Boluda Blanca , Garrido Ana , Morgades Mireia , Granada Isabel , Barragan Eva , Arnan Montserrat , Serrano Josefina , Tormo Mar , Miguel Bergua Juan , Colorado Mercedes , Salamero Olga , Esteve Jordi , Benavente Celina , Pérez‐Encinas Manuel , Coll Rosa , Martí‐Tutusaus Josep‐Maria , Brunet Salut , Sierra Jorge , Ángel Sanz Miguel , Montesinos Pau , Ribera Josep‐Maria , Vives Susana ,   PETHEMA, CETLAM cooperative groups
Published: April 2020

Introduction

Inv(3)(q21.3q26.2)/t(3;3)(q21.3;q26.2) is a rare poor prognosis cytogenetic abnormality present in acute myeloid leukemia (AML) and other myeloid neoplasms.

Objective

The aim of this study was to evaluate the outcome of a cohort of 61 patients with newly diagnosed AML with inv(3)/t(3;3) treated with homogeneous intensive chemotherapy protocols conducted by the Spanish PETHEMA and CETLAM cooperative groups between 1999 and 2017.

Methods

In this retrospective study the main clinical and biologic parameters were collected. The complete response (CR) rate, the cumulative incidence of relapse (CIR) and the overall survival (OS) were calculated. An analysis of prognostic factors for survival was performed.

Results

Sixty‐one patients received induction and only 18 (29%) achieved CR (median age, 46 years). Allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (alloHSCT) was performed in 36 patients (59%), 15 with active disease. One‐ and 4‐year CIR were 52% and 56%. One‐ and 4‐year OS probabilities were 41% and 13%. By multivariate analysis monosomal karyotype (MK) was associated with poorer OS (HR 2.0, P = .017).

Conclusion

Inv(3)/t(3;3) AML is a poor prognosis entity with low response to standard chemotherapy and to alloHSCT because of frequent and early relapse. MK was associated with a poorer prognosis. Improved therapeutic strategies are clearly needed.