bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Sham project compliance behaviour
Authors: Darling Eric John , Whitty Stephen Jonathan
Published: November 2019

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine a case of sham compliance performance reporting through the lens of Goffman’s dramaturgy to reveal its dramaturgical structure. It makes a methodological contribution to comprehending “lived experience” accounts of project work, and adds knowledge concerning the behind-the-scenes motivators to sham behaviour in project work.

Design/methodology/approach

Using an ethnographic lived experience account, an aspect of project work is reconceptualised as a collection of dramaturgical scenes. These scenes disclose issues beyond the bounds of the traditional project management discourse, and increase knowledge and appreciation of sham and performative behaviour in project work.

Findings

Sham progress reporting can emerge in an environment where senior management’s ignorance of project work creates unworkable binds for project staff. Moreover, the sham behaviour succeeds at its objective because senior management are vulnerable to false impressions. This situation raises ethical issues for those involved, and creates an overhead in dealing with the reality of project work.

Research limitations/implications

Limitations to this study are due to the inherent nature of the ethnographic method, where it is difficult to recruit willing participants, particularly in terms of sham behaviour cases. This study has implications for research on sham and performativity behaviour in project work, as studies can benefit from the dramaturgical analysis and Goffmanesque scene illustration techniques that help give focus to particular aspects of social performance, and remove complexity from the narrative.

Practical implications

The research provides practitioners with a way of discussing superfluous compliance process using additional lived experience vocabulary. This could reduce the undue pressure to behave unethically, and reduce the burden to create the extra impression management work.

Originality/value

This study brings a voice to sham behaviour in project work. Continued ignorance of sham behaviour results in unnecessary work and unprofitable projects. Individuals could pay a price in terms of stress and well-being, not discussed.
Optimization of the simultaneous pickup and delivery vehicle routing problem based on carbon tax
Authors: Qin Gaoyuan , Tao Fengming , Li Lixia , Chen Zhenyu
Published: November 2019

Purpose

In order to reduce logistics transportation costs and respond to low-carbon economy, the purpose of this paper is to study the more practical and common simultaneous pickup and delivery vehicle routing problem, which considers the carbon tax policy. A low-carbon simultaneous pickup and delivery vehicle routing problem model is constructed with the minimum total costs as the objective function.

Design/methodology/approach

This study develops a mathematical optimization model with the minimum total costs, including the carbon emissions costs as the objective function. An adaptive genetic hill-climbing algorithm is designed to solve the model.

Findings

First, the effectiveness of the algorithm is verified by numerical experiments. Second, the research results prove that carbon tax mechanism can effectively reduce carbon emissions within effective carbon tax interval. Finally, the research results also show that, under the carbon tax mechanism, the effect of vehicle speed on total costs will become more obvious with the increase of carbon tax.

Research limitations/implications

This paper only considers the weight of the cargo, but it does not consider the volume of the cargo.

Originality/value

Few studies focus on environmental issues in the simultaneous pickup and delivery problem. Thus, this paper constructs a green path optimization model, combining the carbon tax mechanism for the problem. This paper further analyzes the impact of carbon tax value on total costs and carbon emission; at the same time, the effect of vehicle speed on total cost is also analyzed.
The impact of collaboration network on new product development
Authors: Chen Peizhen
Published: November 2019

Purpose

Researchers agree that collaboration networks can be an important implement in a firm’s innovation process, but there is limited empirical evidence on actually how they facilitate the new product development (NPD). The paper aims to discuss these issues.

Design/methodology/approach

Using longitudinal and multisource data on a sample of firms engaged in the Chinese automobile industry, the authors examine the structural properties of collaboration networks and their possible influences on firms’ NPD performance.

Findings

The results indicate that the structural features of the technology-based collaboration networks in the automobile industry have a low degree of collaborative integration and they influence firms’ NPD performance in diverse ways. The authors find that the direct ties, indirect ties and structural holes of the collaboration networks are all positively associated with firms’ number of new products. However, the authors have not found the evidence that the number of direct ties can moderate the relationship between the indirect ties and the NPD performance.

Originality/value

First, previous researches concerning the network mainly focused on their influence on technology innovation, few scholars studied the relationship between collaboration network and NPD. Second, the data used in this paper are true and valid, they are all from relevant departments of the Chinese government. Third, the empirical research of new products in China’s manufacturing industry is relatively new.
A comparison of statistical and decision-making techniques in marketing mix evaluation
Authors: Shokrani Mahsa , Haghighi Mohammad , Paricheh Morteza , Shokrani Mina
Published: November 2019

Purpose

Although customer satisfaction (CS) has been evaluated through using statistical and decision-making techniques so far, no research, to the best of the authors’ knowledge, has been conducted for implementing both groups simultaneously and clarifying the different or similar aspects of the results given by these techniques. The purpose of this paper is to compare the techniques and clarify these unknown aspects.

Design/methodology/approach

First, the effect of the elements related to service marketing mix on CS was examined by using structural equation model (SEM). Then, the statistical methods such as Friedman test (FT) and SEM, and decision-making technique such as Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) were systematically compared for prioritizing the elements of service marketing mix. The sample included 159 special customers of an anonymous bank in Bojnurd, Iran. The reliability of the questionnaire was confirmed by using Cronbach’s α (r=0.934). In addition, SPSS, Expert Choice and Smart PLS software were used.

Findings

Based on the results, FT and AHP method had exactly the same ranking for the elements of the marketing mix, as well as almost identical relative weights. The ranking included people, process, product, physical evidence, place, price and promotion, respectively, while the SEM technique had very different outcomes. Finally, none of the methods could assure the marketer to come to a reliable decision separately.

Originality/value

In this study, the authors’ contribution is the understanding of the role of an effective marketing mix evaluation technique selection on marketing strategy. Different techniques had different and in some cases even contradicting outcomes.
The prevalence of depression and post-traumatic stress disorder among internally displaced persons in Maiduguri, Nigeria
Authors: Aluh Deborah Oyine , Okoro Roland Nnaemeka , Zimboh Adamu
Published: November 2019

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to assess the prevalence of depression and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) among internally displaced persons (IDPs) in Maiduguri.

Design/methodology/approach

The study was a cross-sectional study that took place among the six IDP camps located in Maiduguri metropolis in Borno State. A non-randomized technique was used to sample 1,200 respondents. Face-to-face interviews with selected members of households were carried out confidentially. The study used the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9) and Impact of Event Scale-6 which were translated to Kanuri. Descriptive and inferential statistics were employed using SPSS version 21.

Findings

The response rate was 100 percent. In total, 96.1 percent (1,153) of the respondents were depressed, while 78 percent (936) of the respondents were symptomatic for PTSD. The prevalence rate of comorbid PTSD with depression was 68.1 percent (817). About one-third of the respondents had moderately severe depression (29.6 percent,n=355) while about one in ten of them were severely depressed (11.3 percent,n=136). The odds of being depressed was 3.308 higher in people aged 51–60 years compared to people between 18 and 20 years. Significant predictors of depression in the sampled population were screening positive for PTSD and being unemployed.

Practical implications

The high prevalence of depression and PTSD among the sampled population calls for structured interventions to deal with mental health problems. The study findings suggest the need for more research (preferably qualitative) on the mental health issues in this population.

Originality/value

This study contributes to the sparse available literature on the mental health of IDPs in Nigeria.
Organizational learning, authentic leadership and individual-level resistance to change
Authors: Mousa Mohamed , Massoud Hiba K. , Ayoubi Rami M.
Published: November 2019

Purpose

This paper aims to focus on academics in three private foreign universities located in Cairo (Egypt) to explore the effect of organizational learning on individual-level resistance to change with and without the mediation of authentic leadership.

Design/methodology/approach

A total of 960 academics were contacted and all of them received a set of questionnaires. After four follow ups, a total of 576 responses were collected with a response rate of 60.00 per cent. The author used the chi-square test to determine the association between organizational learning and authentic leadership. Multiple regressions were used to show how much variation in individual-level resistance to change can be explained by organizational learning and authentic leadership.

Findings

The findings highlight a statistical association between organizational learning and authentic leadership. Moreover, another statistical association is explored between authentic leadership and individual-level resistance to change. Furthermore, the statistical analysis proved that having an authentic leadership in the workplace fosters the effect of organizational learning in alleviating individual’s resistance to change.

Research limitations/implications

Data were collected only from academics and did not include rectors and/or heads of academic departments, the matter that may lead to an inflation of statistical relationships. Future research could use a double source method. Moreover, focusing only on private foreign universities working in Egypt diminishes the author’s potential for generalizing his results.

Practical implications

The author recommends establishing a unit for knowledge management inside every university. The function of this unit includes but is not limited to examining prospective socio-political, cultural and economic changes/challenges in the surrounding environment and preparing the possible scenarios for dealing with them. This in turn should comprise involvement and learning opportunities for academics work in these universities. The suggested units should also organize monthly meetings between academics and representatives from different Egyptian sectors such as NGOs personnel, CEOs of private and public companies, environmentalists and politicians to address what change those actors seek universities to undertake to guide academics to fulfill their expectations.

Originality/value

This paper contributes by filling a gap in HR management and organization literature in the higher education sector, in which empirical studies on the relationship between organizational learning, authentic leadership and resistance to change have been limited until now.
Parasitoids of leaf herbivores enhance plant fitness and do not alter caterpillar‐induced resistance against seed beetles
Authors: Bustos‐Segura Carlos , Cuny Maximilien A. C. , Benrey Betty
Published: November 2019

Organisms of the third trophic level can indirectly interact with plants. However, whether parasitoids of herbivores have a positive effect on plant fitness has been controversial. In addition to possible effects on plant fitness, parasitoid‐mitigated herbivory can modify plant physiological responses and thereby alter the plant‐mediated indirect interactions between different herbivore species. These types of indirect multitrophic interactions remain largely unexplored. Thus, to understand the full effect of the third trophic level on plants, it is necessary to consider the context of the community of interacting species, both herbivores and their enemies.

Here, we investigated whether parasitoids of leaf‐feeding caterpillars affect plant fitness (seed quantity and quality) and the consequences for seed‐dwelling insects at the second and third trophic levels through plant‐mediated effects. To test this, we exposed lima bean plants (Phaseolus lunatus), under controlled field conditions, to caterpillars (Spodoptera latifascia) that were unparasitized or parasitized by the parasitoid species Cotesia marginiventris. Later in the season, we measured seed production and infestation by seed beetles and their parasitoids.

We found that parasitoids significantly reduced the leaf damage inflicted by the caterpillars, such that the plants suffered no loss in seed production. Yet, parasitoids had no effect on the emergence of seed beetles (Zabrotes subfasciatus and Acanthoscelides obtectus), which was equally reduced in plants attacked by unparasitized and by parasitized caterpillars. Seeds from undamaged plants were significantly more attacked by Z. subfasciatus beetles. Parasitism rates of seed beetle larvae were similar for all treatments.

Although parasitized caterpillars did not damage the plants enough to reduce seed production (unlike unparasitized caterpillars), the damage they inflicted induced resistance against other herbivores. Taken together, these results show how parasitoids can indirectly enhance plant fitness in the context of the local multitrophic ecological networks. These findings have significant implications for natural and agricultural systems since they reveal that the indirect interaction between plants and parasitoids can be beneficial in communities with multiple herbivore species.
Simultaneous angiotensin receptor blockade and glucagon‐like peptide‐1 receptor activation ameliorate albuminuria in obese insulin‐resistant rats
Authors: Rodriguez Ruben , Escobedo Benny , Lee Andrew Y. , Thorwald Max , Godoy‐Lugo Jose A. , Nakano Daisuke , Nishiyama Akira , Parkes David G. , Ortiz Rudy M.
Published: November 2019

Insulin resistance increases renal oxidant production by upregulating NADPH oxidase 4 (Nox4) expression contributing to oxidative damage and ultimately albuminuria. Inhibition of the renin‐angiotensin system (RAS) and activation of glucagon‐like peptide‐1 (GLP‐1) receptor signalling may reverse this effect. However, whether angiotensin receptor type 1 (AT1) blockade and GLP‐1 receptor activation improve oxidative damage and albuminuria through different mechanisms is not known. Using insulin‐resistant Otsuka Long‐Evans Tokushima Fatty (OLETF) rats, we tested the hypothesis that simultaneous blockade of AT1 and activation of GLP‐1r additively decrease oxidative damage and urinary albumin excretion (UalbV) in the following groups: (a) untreated, lean LETO (n = 7), (b) untreated, obese OLETF (n = 9), (c) OLETF + angiotensin receptor blocker (ARB; 10 mg olmesartan/kg/d; n = 9), (d) OLETF + GLP‐1 mimetic (EXE; 10 µg exenatide/kg/d; n = 7) and (e) OLETF + ARB +exenatide (Combo; n = 6). Mean kidney Nox4 protein expression and nitrotyrosine (NT) levels were 30% and 46% greater, respectively, in OLETF compared with LETO. Conversely, Nox4 protein expression and NT were reduced to LETO levels in ARB and EXE, and Combo reduced Nox4, NT and 4‐hydroxy‐2‐nonenal levels by 21%, 27% and 27%, respectively. At baseline, UalbV was nearly double in OLETF compared with LETO and increased to nearly 10‐fold greater levels by the end of the study. Whereas ARB (45%) and EXE (55%) individually reduced UalbV, the combination completely ameliorated the albuminuria. Collectively, these data suggest that AT1 blockade and GLP‐1 receptor activation reduce renal oxidative damage similarly during insulin resistance, whereas targeting both signalling pathways provides added benefit in restoring and/or further ameliorating albuminuria in a model of diet‐induced obesity.
Women's perspective on life after total laryngectomy: a qualitative study
Authors: van Sluis Klaske E. , Kornman Anne F. , van der Molen Lisette , van den Brekel Michiel W. M. , Yaron Gili
Published: November 2019

Background

Physical and psychosocial challenges are common after total laryngectomy. The surgery leads to lifelong changes in communication, airway, swallowing and appearance. As we move towards health models driven by patient‐centred care, understanding the differential impacts of surgical procedures on subgroups of patients can help improve our care models, patient education and support systems. This paper discusses the experiences of women following total laryngectomy.

Aims

To gain an insight into the impact of total laryngectomy on women's daily life while identifying their specific rehabilitation needs.

Methods & Procedures

This paper is based on in‐depth, semi‐structured interviews with eight women who had undergone total laryngectomy. These interviews were conducted with women at least 1 year after they had undergone total laryngectomy, and the participants did not have recurrent disease. Using an interview guide, participants were encouraged to discuss their everyday experiences, while also focusing on issues typical to women. The transcribed interview data were analysed by thematic analysis, taking interpretative phenomenological analysis as a lead.

Outcomes & Results

The interviews revealed three main themes: disease and treatment as a turning point, re‐establishing meaningful everyday activities, and persistent vulnerability. Participants reported experiencing challenges in their rehabilitation process due to physical disabilities, dependency on others and experienced stigma. Women‐specific challenges arose in dealing with the altered appearance and voice, performing care activities, and the spousal relationship (including intimacy).

Conclusions & Implications

Women who undergo total laryngectomy are likely to experience issues in returning to work, the performance of informal care‐work, the spousal relationship, intimacy and social interaction due to stigmatization. Medical pretreatment counselling and multidisciplinary rehabilitation programmes should help patients form realistic expectations and prepare them for the changes they will face. A gender‐ and age‐matched laryngectomized patient visitor can contribute to this process. Rehabilitation programmes should incorporate the partner and offer psychosocial support for women following total laryngectomy to return to their former roles in family life, social life and work‐related activities.
Monetary Policy and Financial Stability: The Role of Inflation Targeting
Authors: Sethi Dinabandhu , Acharya Debashis
Published: November 2019

This article examines the relationship between Inflation targeting (IT) and financial instability from 1990 to 2015 for Asian economies. To measure financial instability, a multidimensional financial conditioning index is calculated following the ECB's approach. Using a fixed effects panel data model the study finds that adoption of IT policy in Asian economies has an adverse impact on financial stability, thus rejecting the ‘conventional wisdom’ hypothesis. Further, the Vector Autoregression (VAR) result shows that an IT regime increases housing returns and encourages investors to take higher risks.
Comparison of biodiversity and ground cover between a commercial rotationally grazed property and an adjacent nature reserve in semi‐arid rangeland
Authors: McDonald Sarah E. , Reid Nick , Smith Rhiannon , Waters Cathleen M. , Hunter John , Rader Romina
Published: November 2019

Continuous livestock grazing can have negative effects on biodiversity and landscape function in arid and semi‐arid rangelands. Alternative grazing management practices, such as rotational grazing, may be a viable option for broad‐scale biodiversity conservation and sustainable pastoral management. This study compared ground cover, plant species composition and floristic and functional diversity along gradients of grazing intensity between a pastoral property rotationally grazed by goats and an adjacent nature reserve (ungrazed by commercial livestock) in semi‐arid south‐eastern Australia. Understorey plant species composition differed significantly between the rotationally grazed property and the nature reserve, with a greater proportion and frequency of palatable species recorded in the nature reserve. Understorey plant species richness, diversity, functional biodiversity measures and ground cover declined with increasing grazing pressure close to water points under commercial rotational grazing management. However, at a whole‐paddock scale, there were few differences in plant biodiversity and ground cover between the rotationally grazed property and the nature reserve, despite differences in overall plant species composition. Flexible, adaptive, rotational grazing should be investigated further for its potential to achieve both socio‐economic and biodiversity conservation outcomes in semi‐arid rangelands to complement existing conservation reserves.
Traits reveal how habitat‐quality gradients structure small mammal communities in a fragmented tropical landscape
Authors: Hannibal Wellington , Cunha Nicolay Leme da , Figueiredo Valquiria Vilalba , Teresa Fabrício Barreto , Ferreira Vanda Lúcia
Published: November 2019

Understanding the relationships among community structure, vegetation structure and availability of food resources are a key to unravelling the ecological processes that structure biological communities. In this study, we tested (i) whether the composition of small mammal communities changed across gradients in habitat quality in tropical forest fragments, and (ii) whether any observed change could be explained by the functional traits of species. We sampled 24 trapping grids in fragments of semi‐deciduous forest, in each of two 6‐month periods. We considered each trapping grid as a sampling unit, for which we collected three datasets: an environmental matrix (vegetation structure and food resource availability), the abundance of small mammal species (community structure) and a matrix of functional traits (ecological and morphological traits which express tolerance to habitat disturbance and trophic guild). We used an RLQ approach to evaluate the association between traits and environmental gradients. Forest‐specialist and scansorial–arboreal species were associated with more complex habitat that had greater litter and canopy cover and more fallen logs. In relation to trophic guilds, granivore (fruit seeds), insectivorous and omnivorous species were also associated with higher complexity habitat, while frugivores were associated with shrub cover and availability of fruits. We conclude that functional traits (habitat use, use of vertical strata and diet) provide valuable insights into the distribution of small mammals along gradients of habitat quality in tropical forest fragments. We highlight that communities studies in fragmented landscapes should investigate the different components of biodiversity not only in landscape‐scale but also in habitat scale.

Abstract in Portuguese is available with online material.
From the Right to Mobility to the Right to the Mobile City: Playfulness and Mobilities in Bogotá’s Cycling Activism
Authors: Castañeda Paola
Published: November 2019

This paper takes cycling activism in Bogotá (Colombia) as a point of departure to conceptualise the right to the mobile city. Mobility is a key site of intervention for claiming the right to the city, but has so far only been considered in terms of access to the city. Such a reading obscures the ways in which mobile practices themselves can be exercises in participation, appropriation, and management of urban space. In examining biketivists’ playful mobilities, I emphasise the centrality of mobility in the production of the city. Foregrounding play as a means to assert use value over exchange value in the city allows for a non‐utilitarian understanding of mobility and a reconceptualisation of the right to mobility along Lefebvrian lines. However, playful practices can also produce spaces of exclusion, and nuance is necessary to avoid totalising accounts of cycling politics.
On “the Concrete”: Labour, Difference and Method
Authors: Ekers Michael , Loftus Alex
Published: November 2019

This paper develops a genealogy of concrete labour, paying particular attention to debates within marxist, feminist‐marxist and Black feminist writings. Our argument pivots around the dual character of (re)productive activities and an argument that the concrete is both an “aspect” of labour and the concentration of many different relations. We begin with a critique of the false universalisms in certain invocations of the concrete, noting how the far right has mobilised this “false concrete” in the figure of the people. Teasing out long‐standing debates over the dual character of labour enables us instead to better understand the social differentiation within concrete lived activity. Through discussing the internal relations that constitute the concrete as labour and method we propose a critical strategy that challenges false universalisms, provides a way to understand relationally defined positionalities, and that is also a place from which to struggle and organise.
Hope in the Shadows: Testing the Immigrant Optimism Hypothesis Among College Aspirational Latino Students
Authors: Bahena Sofia
Published: November 2019

Scholars have proposed that immigrant optimism explains why some immigrant students outperform their United States‐born peers academically. Yet, immigrant optimism has not been directly measured. This study aims to test the immigrant optimism hypothesis by operationalizing it using the Children’s Hope Scale. Using structural equation modeling, the author examined the associations between hope, immigrant generation, citizenship status, and academic outcomes among a sample of 2,369 Latino 14‐ to 17‐year‐old students. Though no difference by immigrant generation was found, undocumented students were more hopeful than their documented peers. This finding suggests that the documentation status has an indirect relative effect on academic outcomes via hope. This article reexamines the immigrant optimism as a resource that could be fostered among Latino youth, regardless of immigrant status.
Herpes simplex virus reactivation and the relationship with Alzheimer's disease: A countering view
Authors: Fluegge Keith
Published: November 2019

Many have described the molecular mechanisms underpinning the viral etiology of Alzheimer's disease. This commentary challenges this premise by discussing evidence that Herpes simplex virus reactivation reduces progression to Alzheimer's disease, and also proposing that viral reactivation is a compensatory reaction to other causal exposures in Alzheimer's disease pathophysiology.
Multicenter study of the clinical features and mutation gene spectrum of Chinese children with Dent disease
Authors: Ye Qing , Shen Qian , Rao Jia , Zhang Aihua , Zheng Bixia , Liu Xiaorong , Shen Ying , Chen Zhi , Wu Yubing , Hou Ling , Jian Shan , Wei Min , Ma Mingsheng , Sun Shuzhen , Li Qian , Dang Xiqiang , Wang Ying , Xu Hong , Mao Jianhua ,   for Chinese Children Genetic Kidney Disease Database (CCGKDD), “Internet Plus” Nephrology Alliance of National Center for Children's Care
Published: November 2019

Dent disease is a rare X‐linked recessive inherited tubular disease. In this multicenter study, the clinical presentation and genetic background of Chinese children with Dent disease are studied to improve the cognition and diagnostic ability of pediatricians. In this prospective cohort, we described the genotype and phenotype of a national cohort composed of 45 pediatric probands with Dent disease belonging to 45 families from 12 different regions of China recruited from 2014 to 2018 by building up the multicenter registration system. The CLCN5 gene from 32 affected families revealed 28 different mutations. The OCRL gene from 13 affected families revealed 13 different mutations. The incidence of low‐molecular‐weight proteinuria (LMWP) in both Dent disease type 1 populations and Dent disease type 2 populations was 100.0%; however, the incidence of other manifestations was not high, which was similar to previously reported data. Therefore, LMWP is a key clinical feature that should alert clinicians to the possibility of Dent disease. A high amount of LMWP combined with positive gene test results can be used as the diagnostic criteria for this disease. The diagnostic criteria are helpful in reducing the missed diagnosis of this disease and are beneficial for protecting the renal function of these patients through early diagnosis and early intervention.
Who should access germline genome sequencing? A mixed methods study of patient views
Authors: Best Megan C. , Butow Phyllis , Jacobs Chris , Savard Jacqueline , Biesecker Barbara , Ballinger Mandy L. , Bartley Nicci , Davies Grace , Napier Christine E. , Smit Amelia K. , Thomas David M. , Newson Ainsley J. ,   Members of the PiGeOn Project
Published: November 2019

Implementation of any new medical test, including germline genome sequencing (GS) to inform cancer risk, should take place only when a test is effective, ethically justifiable and acceptable to a population. Little empirical evidence exists on patient views regarding GS for cancer risk. The aim of this study was to elicit opinions on who should be offered GS and who should pay for it. Participants with a probable genetic basis for their cancer (n = 335) and blood relatives (n = 199) were recruited to undergo GS and invited to complete questionnaires at baseline. A subset (n = 40) also participated in qualitative interviews about their views regarding access to GS to detect cancer risk. Our response rate was 92% for questionnaires and 100% for interviews. Participants expressed high enthusiasm overall for access to GS for those with a family history of cancer and anyone who requested testing, but enthusiasm was lower for universal access, if opting out was possible and finances not an issue. Rationales for these views reflected maximising the sound use of resources. Challenges to introducing community screening via GS to limit cancer burden were raised, including the current limits of science and individual ability to cope with uncertain results. Participants undergoing GS supported cancer risk testing for those with a family history of cancer but were concerned about the challenges of designing and implementing a population‐based GS cancer‐screening program.
Phenotype‐to‐genotype approach reveals head‐circumference‐associated genes in an autism spectrum disorder cohort
Authors: Wu Huidan , Li Honghui , Bai Ting , Han Lin , Ou Jianjun , Xun Guanglei , Zhang Yu , Wang Yazhe , Duan Guiqin , Zhao Ningxia , Chen Biyuan , Du Xiaogang , Yao Meiling , Zou Xiaobing , Zhao Jingping , Hu Zhengmao , Eichler Evan E. , Guo Hui , Xia Kun
Published: November 2019

The genotype‐first approach has been successfully applied and has elucidated several subtypes of autism spectrum disorder (ASD). However, it requires very large cohorts because of the extensive genetic heterogeneity. We investigate the alternate possibility of whether phenotype‐specific genes can be identified from a small group of patients with specific phenotype(s). To identify novel genes associated with ASD and abnormal head circumference using a phenotype‐to‐genotype approach, we performed whole‐exome sequencing on 67 families with ASD and abnormal head circumference. Clinically relevant pathogenic or likely pathogenic variants account for 23.9% of patients with microcephaly or macrocephaly, and 81.25% of those variants or genes are head‐size associated. Significantly, recurrent pathogenic mutations were identified in two macrocephaly genes (PTEN, CHD8) in this small cohort. De novo mutations in several candidate genes (UBN2, BIRC6, SYNE1, and KCNMA1) were detected, as well as one new candidate gene (TNPO3) implicated in ASD and related neurodevelopmental disorders. We identify genotype‐phenotype correlations for head‐size‐associated ASD genes and novel candidate genes for further investigation. Our results also suggest a phenotype‐to‐genotype strategy would accelerate the elucidation of genotype‐phenotype relationships for ASD by using phenotype‐restricted cohorts.
Theory Making from the Middle: Researching LGBTQ Communities in Small Cities
Authors: Forstie Clare
Published: November 2019

Urban lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) community research in sociology has largely ignored LGBTQ communities in the most common urban form: small cities. In this article, I argue that LGBTQ communities in small cities are an underexplored source of theory making about LGBTQ communities more broadly, and I highlight the ways such research enhances LGBTQ community research. I first discuss a definitional framework of LGBTQ communities in small cities. In other words, what do we mean by small cities, and what do we mean by LGBTQ communities within them? I then discuss the handful of examples of research on LGBTQ communities in small cities, describing the kinds of theoretical questions such research raises. I examine specifically how small–city LGBTQ communities shift our thinking about urban LGBTQ community research in the following four areas: social networks, spatial and temporal dimensions of community, identity intersections, and allyship. Next, I identify three reasons why a focus on small cities is necessary to theory making in LGBTQ and community research more broadly, including and moving beyond questions of representation. I conclude by highlighting the methodological diversity needed to effectively research LGBTQ communities in small cities and briefly address a few challenges in moving this field of research forward.
Emerging Insights on the Interaction Between Anticancer and Immunosuppressant Drugs and Intestinal Microbiota in Pediatric Patients
Authors: Lucafò Marianna , Franzin Martina , Lagatolla Cristina , Franca Raffaella , Bramuzzo Matteo , Stocco Gabriele , Decorti Giuliana
Published: November 2019

Diseases affecting the immune system, such as inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA), and acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), are pathological conditions affecting the pediatric population and are often associated with alterations in the intestinal microbiota, such as a decrease in bacterial diversity. Growing evidence suggests that gut microbiota can interfere with chemotherapeutic and immunosuppressant drugs, used in the treatment of these diseases, reducing or facilitating drug efficacy. In particular, the effect of intestinal microflora through translocation, immunomodulation, metabolism, enzymatic degradation, and reduction of bacterial diversity seems to be one of the reasons of interindividual variability in the therapeutic response. Although the extent of the role of intestinal microflora in chemotherapy and immunosuppression remains still unresolved, current evidence on bacterial compositional shifts will be taken in consideration together with clinical response to drugs for a better and personalized therapy. This review is focused on the effect of the intestinal microbiota on the efficacy of pharmacological therapy of agents used to treat IBD, JIA, and ALL.
Neurofibromas of the oral and maxillofacial complex: A 48‐year retrospective study
Authors: de Pontes Santos Hellen B. , de Morais Everton F. , Moreira Deborah G. L. , Marinho Liliane C. N. , Galvão Hébel C. , de Almeida Freitas Roseana
Published: November 2019

Neurofibromas are benign neoplasms of the peripheral nerve sheath, characterized by the proliferation of Schwann cells, perineural cells and endoneural fibroblasts. Their occurrence in the oral and maxillofacial complex is uncommon. This study aimed to evaluate the clinical and histopathological characteristics of neurofibromas of the oral and maxillofacial complex excised at our institution over a 48‐year period. Using light microscopy, two previously trained oral pathologists re‐evaluated all hematoxylin and eosin slides. From a total of 15,375 cases diagnosed at a referred Oral Pathology Service, 24 cases were diagnosed as neurofibromas. Eighteen neurofibroma patients were female, with a mean age of 39.1 years. Three patients presenting neurofibromas exhibited neurofibromatosis type I. Clinically, most of the lesions presented as asymptomatic nodules, and the most frequent sites were the tongue (n = 6; 25.0%), gingiva (n = 6; 25.0%) and intraosseous maxillary bone region (n = 3; 12.5%). Histopathologically, the lesions were predominantly well delimited, exhibiting interlocking bundles of spindle‐shaped cells that usually displayed wavy nuclei, associated with delicate collagen fibers. Thus, knowledge of their clinical and histopathological features by dentists and oral pathologists is essential for the correct diagnosis of these lesions.
Predictive value of fragmented QRS for ventricular tachyarrhythmias in patients with acute myocardial infarction: A meta‐analysis
Authors: Xu Shangbo , Yang Lihua , Hong Danhua , Chen Lan , Wang Xin
Published: November 2019

Background

Recent studies indicated that fragmented QRS (fQRS) is associated with malignant cardiac arrhythmias in patients with acute myocardial infarction (AMI). However, a systematic review and meta‐analysis on this issue still have not been conducted. Thus, we performed a systematic review and meta‐analysis to access the predictive value of fQRS for ventricular tachyarrhythmias (VTAs) in patients with AMI.

Materials and Methods

We searched the databases of PubMed, Embase and Cochrane Library for relevant studies until 8 June 2019. We included studies which compared VTAs in AMI patients with fQRS vs without fQRS.

Results

Six studies enrolling 2218 ST‐segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) patients were included in this meta‐analysis. The fQRS was significantly associated with greater risk of VTAs in STEMI patients (Odds ratio [OR] 2.81, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.99‐3.95, P < .00001; I2 = 30%). This association was still significant both in prospective (OR 3.25, 95% CI 1.94‐5.46, P < .00001; I2 = 0%) and retrospective (OR 2.40, 95% CI 1.22‐4.74, P = .01; I2 = 54%) studies. In particularly, fQRS in patients with low left ventricular ejection fraction (≤50%) (OR 2.97, 95% CI 1.88‐4.70, P < .00001; I2 = 21%) or <60 years old (OR 3.07, 95% CI 2.02‐4.66, P < .00001; I2 = 0%) tripled the risk of VTAs during AMI.

Conclusion

Our meta‐analysis demonstrated that fQRS increases the risk of developing VTAs in patients with STEMI.
The effect of positional error on fine scale species distribution models increases for specialist species
Authors: Gábor Lukáš , Moudrý Vítězslav , Lecours Vincent , Malavasi Marco , Barták Vojtěch , Fogl Michal , Šímová Petra , Rocchini Duccio , Václavík Tomáš
Published: November 2019

Species occurrences inherently include positional error. Such error can be problematic for species distribution models (SDMs), especially those based on fine‐resolution environmental data. It has been suggested that there could be a link between the influence of positional error and the width of the species ecological niche. Although positional errors in species occurrence data may imply serious limitations, especially for modelling species with narrow ecological niche, it has never been thoroughly explored. We used a virtual species approach to assess the effects of the positional error on fine‐scale SDMs for species with environmental niches of different widths. We simulated three virtual species with varying niche breadth, from specialist to generalist. The true distribution of these virtual species was then altered by introducing different levels of positional error (from 5 to 500 m). We built generalized linear models and MaxEnt models using the distribution of the three virtual species (unaltered and altered) and a combination of environmental data at 5 m resolution. The models’ performance and niche overlap were compared to assess the effect of positional error with varying niche breadth in the geographical and environmental space. The positional error negatively impacted performance and niche overlap metrics. The amplitude of the influence of positional error depended on the species niche, with models for specialist species being more affected than those for generalist species. The positional error had the same effect on both modelling techniques. Finally, increasing sample size did not mitigate the negative influence of positional error. We showed that fine‐scale SDMs are considerably affected by positional error, even when such error is low. Therefore, where new surveys are undertaken, we recommend paying attention to data collection techniques to minimize the positional error in occurrence data and thus to avoid its negative effect on SDMs, especially when studying specialist species.
Learning programmes and teaching techniques to enhance oral health literacy or patient‐centred communication for healthcare providers: A systematic review
Authors: Nurash Pariyawit , Kasevayuth Kasekarn , Intarakamhang Ungsinun
Published: November 2019

Objective

To investigate the learning programmes and teaching techniques used in interventions to enhance oral health literacy (OHL) or patient‐centred communication (PCC) for healthcare providers.

Materials and methods

A systematic review of OHL and PCC were obtained from four electronic databases (PubMed, ScienceDirect, ProQuest and Scopus) was undertaken. These searches covered the period from January 2008 to December 2017. The quality assessment tool was the Joanna Briggs Institute Critical Appraisal tool for systematic reviews of effectiveness.

Results

The final review included nine studies amongst a total of 1475 studies. They showed three learning programmes (workshops, training and community‐based rotation) and 17 related teaching techniques to promote OHL and PCC. The most commonly used learning programmes to enhance OHL and PCC for healthcare providers were workshops, and the teaching techniques included feedback and reflection. The intervention periods of the programmes took 20 minutes to half a day. The three studies did not have a follow‐up, whilst the rest showed a follow‐up range of 2 months to 3 years. Interestingly, there was one study, which applied double follow‐ups to show the effectiveness of the programme.

Conclusion

Either workshops or training programmes with a combination of teaching techniques were effective in terms of enhancing their OHL or PCC. The more frequent follow‐up might increase the long‐term effectiveness of the learning programme.
A structured analysis of risk to important wildlife elements in three Australian Wildlife Conservancy sanctuaries
Authors: Smith Michael , Jackson Chantelle , Palmer Nicola , Palmer Bryony
Published: November 2019

Where data and information are lacking, structured expert risk assessments can provide a powerful tool to progress natural resource planning. In many situations, practitioners make informal assessments of risk within small groups that typically constitute employees. In this study, we report on three small (in terms of experts) structured expert‐based risk assessment case studies conducted by expert employees of a not‐for‐profit organisation (Australian Wildlife Conservancy) to demonstrate the utility of the approach. The case studies were carried out for three wildlife sanctuaries managed by AWC: Faure Island, Karakamia and Paruna. The likelihood that a set of direct risk factors would cause management failure for sets of important wildlife elements in the three sanctuaries was elicited from the small group of ecological experts. The analysis was couched in terms of a management aim to not lose species from each wildlife element over the management period of 25 years with current management. The experts believed, in particular, that increasing temperature and decreasing water availability associated with climate change were likely to impact significantly upon the vegetation elements and water‐reliant fauna associated with the sanctuaries. Some vegetation elements were also thought likely to be at risk of over‐grazing, unsuitable fire regimes and, in some cases, disease. In addition to predation by exotic predators at one sanctuary, the experts identified additional direct risk factors for various fauna elements associated with expected changes to the vegetation elements, including reduction in food availability, nesting habitat, and generally important life media. From the risk analyses, a preliminary conceptual model was developed to underpin monitoring and to indicate areas for possible management intervention and research. The case studies demonstrate that even in a small workplace team, structured risk assessments can be efficiently accomplished and can provide expedient and transparent information that effectively captures and aggregates the views of the experts.
Unusual pathophysiological mechanisms of ptyalism in two horses
Authors: Olley R. B. , Piercy R. J. , Leeming G. , McGowan C. M.
Published: November 2019

This report outlines two cases of ptyalism that were not associated with oral conditions or primary dysphagia. The first, a 9‐year‐old Thoroughbred gelding, was associated with left‐sided peripheral vestibular disease and bone modelling around the left tympanic bulla. The second, a 7‐year‐old Dutch Warmblood mare, was associated with progressive bilateral laryngeal paralysis and a mediastinal T‐cell lymphoma. In Case 1, a neurological pathophysiology was proposed involving altered autonomic innervation of the salivary glands; whilst in Case 2, the mechanism remains unclear but may have involved mechanical compression of the intrathoracic oesophagus or stimulation of afferents within the vagus nerve. This case series highlights rare causes of ptyalism that have not been previously reported in the literature.