bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
A discrete mesoscopic particle model of the mechanics of a multi-constituent arterial wall
Authors: Witthoft Alexandra , Yazdani Alireza , Peng Zhangli , Bellini Chiara , Humphrey Jay D. , Karniadakis George Em
Published: January 2016

Blood vessels have unique properties that allow them to function together within a complex, self-regulating network. The contractile capacity of the wall combined with complex mechanical properties of the extracellular matrix enables vessels to adapt to changes in haemodynamic loading. Homogenized phenomenological and multi-constituent, structurally motivated continuum models have successfully captured these mechanical properties, but truly describing intricate microstructural details of the arterial wall may require a discrete framework. Such an approach would facilitate modelling interactions between or the separation of layers of the wall and would offer the advantage of seamless integration with discrete models of complex blood flow. We present a discrete particle model of a multi-constituent, nonlinearly elastic, anisotropic arterial wall, which we develop using the dissipative particle dynamics method. Mimicking basic features of the microstructure of the arterial wall, the model comprises an elastin matrix having isotropic nonlinear elastic properties plus anisotropic fibre reinforcement that represents the stiffer collagen fibres of the wall. These collagen fibres are distributed evenly and are oriented in four directions, symmetric to the vessel axis. Experimental results from biaxial mechanical tests of an artery are used for model validation, and a delamination test is simulated to demonstrate the new capabilities of the model.
Hydroxyapatite formation on graphene oxide modified with amino acids: arginine versus glutamic acid
Authors: Tavafoghi M. , Brodusch N. , Gauvin R. , Cerruti M.
Published: January 2016

Hydroxyapatite (HA, Ca
5
(PO
4
)
3
OH) is the main inorganic component of hard tissues, such as bone and dentine. HA nucleation involves a set of negatively charged phosphorylated proteins known as non-collagenous proteins (NCPs). These proteins attract Ca
2+
and PO
4
3−
ions and increase the local supersaturation to a level required for HA precipitation. Polar and charged amino acids (AAs) are highly expressed in NCPs, and seem to be responsible for the mineralizing effect of NCPs; however, the individual effect of these AAs on HA mineralization is still unclear. In this work, we investigate the effect of a negatively charged (Glu) and positively charged (Arg) AA bound to carboxylated graphene oxide (CGO) on HA mineralization in simulated body fluids (SBF). Our results show that Arg induces HA precipitation faster and in larger amounts than Glu. We attribute this to the higher stability of the complexes formed between Arg and Ca
2+
and PO
4
3−
ions, and also to the fact that Arg exposes both carboxyl and amino groups on the surface. These can electrostatically attract both Ca
2+
and PO
4
3−
ions, thus increasing local supersaturation more than Glu, which exposes carboxyl groups only.
Smooth enlargement of human standing sway by instability due to weak reaction floor and noise
Authors: Funato Tetsuro , Aoi Shinya , Tomita Nozomi , Tsuchiya Kazuo
Published: January 2016

Human quiet standing is accompanied by body sway. The amplitude of this body sway is known to be larger than would be predicted from simple noise effects, and sway characteristics are changed by neurological disorders. This large sway is thought to arise from nonlinear control with prolonged periods of no control (intermittent control), and a nonlinear control system of this kind has been predicted to exhibit bifurcation. The presence of stability-dependent transition enables dynamic reaction that depends on the stability of the environment, and can explain the change in sway characteristics that accompanies some neurological disorders. This research analyses the characteristics of a system model that induces transition, and discusses whether human standing reflects such a mechanism. In mathematical analysis of system models, (intermittent control-like) nonlinear control with integral control is shown to exhibit Hopf bifurcation. Moreover, from the analytical solution of the system model with noise, noise is shown to work to smooth the enlargement of sway around the bifurcation point. This solution is compared with measured human standing sway on floors with different stabilities. By quantitatively comparing the control parameters between human observation and model prediction, enlargement of sway is shown to appear as predicted by the model analysis.
Dynamics of non-stationary processes that follow the maximum of the Rényi entropy principle
Authors: Shalymov Dmitry S. , Fradkov Alexander L.
Published: January 2016

We propose dynamics equations which describe the behaviour of non-stationary processes that follow the maximum Rényi entropy principle. The equations are derived on the basis of the speed-gradient principle originated in the control theory. The maximum of the Rényi entropy principle is analysed for discrete and continuous cases, and both a discrete random variable and probability density function (PDF) are used. We consider mass conservation and energy conservation constraints and demonstrate the uniqueness of the limit distribution and asymptotic convergence of the PDF for both cases. The coincidence of the limit distribution of the proposed equations with the Rényi distribution is examined.
Dietary exposure to an environmental toxin triggers neurofibrillary tangles and amyloid deposits in the brain
Authors: Cox Paul Alan , Davis David A. , Mash Deborah C. , Metcalf James S. , Banack Sandra Anne
Published: January 2016

Neurofibrillary tangles (NFT) and β-amyloid plaques are the neurological hallmarks of both Alzheimer's disease and an unusual paralytic illness suffered by Chamorro villagers on the Pacific island of Guam. Many Chamorros with the disease suffer dementia, and in some villages one-quarter of the adults perished from the disease. Like Alzheimer's, the causal factors of Guamanian amyotrophic lateral sclerosis/parkinsonism dementia complex (ALS/PDC) are poorly understood. In replicated experiments, we found that chronic dietary exposure to a cyanobacterial toxin present in the traditional Chamorro diet, β-
N
-methylamino-
l
-alanine (BMAA), triggers the formation of both NFT and β-amyloid deposits similar in structure and density to those found in brain tissues of Chamorros who died with ALS/PDC. Vervets (
Chlorocebus sabaeus
) fed for 140 days with BMAA-dosed fruit developed NFT and sparse β-amyloid deposits in the brain. Co-administration of the dietary amino acid
l
-serine with
l
-BMAA significantly reduced the density of NFT. These findings indicate that while chronic exposure to the environmental toxin BMAA can trigger neurodegeneration in vulnerable individuals, increasing the amount of
l
-serine in the diet can reduce the risk.
Commentary on “Limitations of GCTA as a solution to the missing heritability problem”
Authors: Yang Jian , Lee S. Hong , Wray Naomi R. , Goddard Michael E. , Visscher Peter M.
Published: January 2016

In a recent publication entitled “Limitations of GCTA as a solution to the missing heritability problem” Krishna Kumar et al. (2015 PNAS) claim that “GCTA applied to current SNP data cannot produce reliable or stable estimates of heritability”. Here we show that those claims are false and that results presented by Krishna Kumar et al. are in fact entirely consistent with and can be predicted from the theory underlying GCTA.
Structural features of the fly chromatin colors revealed by automatic three-dimensional modeling
Authors: Serra François , Baù Davide , Filion Guillaume , Marti-Renom Marc A.
Published: January 2016

Background

The sequence of a genome is insufficient to understand all genomic processes carried out in the cell nucleus. To achieve this, the knowledge of its threedimensional architecture is necessary. Advances in genomic technologies and the development of new analytical methods, such as Chromosome Conformation Capture (3C) and its derivatives, provide unprecedented insights on the spatial organization of genomes. However, inferring structures from raw contact data is a tedious process for shortage of available tools.

Results

Here we present TADbit, a computational framework to analyze and model the chromatin fiber in three dimensions. To illustrate the use of TADbit, we automatically modeled 50 genomic domains from the fly genome revealing differential structural features of the previously defined chromatin colors, establishing a link between the conformation of the genome and the local chromatin composition.

Conclusions

TADbit provides three-dimensional built from 3C-based experiments, which are ready for visualization and for characterizing their relation to gene expression and epigenetic states. TADbit is open-source and available for download fromhttp://www.3DGenomes.org.
Cell freezing protocol optimized for ATAC-Seq on motor neurons derived from human induced pluripotent stem cells
Authors: Milani Pamela , Escalante-Chong Renan , Shelley Brandon C. , Patel-Murray Natasha L. , Xin Xiaofeng , Adam Miriam , Mandefro Berhan , Sareen Dhruv , Svendsen Clive N. , Fraenkel Ernest
Published: January 2016

In recent years, the assay for transposase-accessible chromatin using sequencing (ATAC-Seq) has become a fundamental tool of epigenomic research. However, it has proven difficult to perform this technique on frozen samples because freezing cells before extracting nuclei impairs nuclear integrity and alters chromatin structure. We describe a protocol for freezing cells that is compatible with ATAC-Seq, producing results that compare well with those generated from fresh cells. We found that while flash-frozen samples are not suitable for ATAC-Seq, the assay is successful with slow-cooled cryopreserved samples. Using this method, we were able to isolate high quality, intact nuclei, and we verified that epigenetic results from fresh and cryopreserved samples agree quantitatively. We developed our protocol on a disease-relevant cell type, namely motor neurons differentiated from induced pluripotent stem cells from a patient affected by spinal muscular atrophy.
A convex optimization approach for identification of human tissue-specific interactomes
Authors: Mohammadi Shahin , Grama Ananth
Published: January 2016

Motivation:

Analysis of organism-specific interactomes has yielded novel insights into cellular function and coordination, understanding of pathology, and identification of markers and drug targets. Genes, however, can exhibit varying levels of cell-type specificity in their expression, and their coordinated expression manifests in tissue-specific function and pathology. Tissue-specific/ selective interaction mechanisms have significant applications in drug discovery, as they are more likely to reveal drug targets. Furthermore, tissue-specific transcription factors (tsTFs) are significantly implicated in human disease, including cancers. Finally, disease genes and protein complexes have the tendency to be differentially expressed in tissues in which defects cause pathology. These observations motivate the construction of refined tissue-specific interactomes from organism-specific interactomes.

Results:

We present a novel technique for constructing human tissue-specific interactomes. Using a variety of validation tests (ESEA, GO Enrichment, Disease-Gene Subnetwork Compactness), we show that our proposed approach significantly outperforms state of the art techniques. Finally, using case studies of Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases, we show that tissue-specific interactomes derived from our study can be used to construct pathways implicated in pathology and demonstrate the use of these pathways in identifying novel targets.

Availability:

http://www.cs.purdue.edu/homes/mohammas/projects/ActPro.html
A frameshift mutation inGON4Lis associated with proportionate dwarfism in Fleckvieh cattle
Authors: Schwarzenbacher Hermann , Wurmser Christine , Flisikowski Krzysztof , Misurova Lubica , Jung Simone , Langenmayer Martin C. , Schnieke Angelika , Knubben-Schweizer Gabriela , Fries Ruedi , Pausch Hubert
Published: January 2016

Background

Low birth weight and postnatal growth restriction are the most evident symptoms of dwarfism. Accompanying skeletal aberrations may compromise the general condition and locomotion of affected individuals. Several paternal half sibs with low birth weight and size were born in 2013 in the Fleckvieh cattle population.

Results

Affected calves were strikingly underweight at birth despite a normal gestation length and had craniofacial abnormalities such as elongated narrow heads and brachygnathia inferior. Despite a normal general condition, their growth remained restricted during rearing. We genotyped 27 affected and 10,454 unaffected animals at 44,672 SNPs and performed association testing followed by homozygosity mapping to map the growth failure to a 1.85 Mb segment on bovine chromosome 3. Analysis of whole-genome re-sequencing data from one affected and 289 unaffected animals revealed a 1bp deletion (g.15079217delC, rs723240647) in the coding region of the GON4L gene that segregated with the dwarfism-associated haplotype. We show that the deletion introduces intron retention and premature termination of translation, putatively resulting in a severely truncated protein that lacks domains that are likely essential to normal protein function. The widespread use of an unnoticed carrier bull for artificial insemination has resulted in a tenfold increase in the frequency of the deleterious allele in the female population.

Conclusions

A frameshift mutation inGON4Lis associated with autosomal recessive proportionate dwarfism in Fleckvieh cattle. The mutation has segregated in the population for more than fifty years without being recognized as a genetic disorder. However, the widespread use of an unnoticed carrier bull for artificial insemination caused a sudden accumulation of homozygous calves with dwarfism. Our findings provide the basis for genome-based mating strategies to avoid the inadvertent mating of carrier animals and thereby prevent the birth of homozygous calves with impaired growth.
The prognostic potential of alternative transcript isoforms across human tumors
Authors: Trincado Juan L. , Sebestyén E. , Pagés A. , Eyras E.
Published: January 2016

Background

Phenotypic changes during cancer progression are associated to alterations in gene expression, which can be exploited to build molecular signatures for tumor stage identification and prognosis. However, it is not yet known whether the relative abundance of transcript isoforms may be informative for clinical stage and survival.

Methods

Using information theory and machine learning methods, we integrated RNA sequencing and clinical data from The Cancer Genome Atlas project to perform the first systematic analysis of the prognostic potential of transcript isoforms in 12 solid tumors to build new predictive signatures for stage and prognosis. This study was also performed in breast tumors according to estrogen receptor status and melanoma tumors with proliferative and invasive phenotypes.

Results

Transcript isoform signatures accurately separate early from late stage and metastatic from non-metastatic tumors, and are predictive of the survival of patients with undetermined lymph node invasion or metastatic status. These signatures show similar, and sometimes better, accuracies compared with known gene expression signatures, and are largely independent of gene expression changes. Furthermore, we show frequent transcript isoform changes in breast tumors according to estrogen receptor status, and in melanoma tumors according to the invasive or proliferative phenotype, and derive accurate predictive models of stage and survival within each patient subgroup.

Conclusions

Our analyses reveal new signatures based on transcript isoform abundances that characterize tumor phenotypes and their progression independently of gene expression. Transcript isoform signatures appear especially relevant to determine lymph node invasion and metastasis, and may potentially contribute towards current strategies of precision cancer medicine.
On Binocular Vision: The Geometric Horopter and Cyclopean Eye
Authors: Turski Jacek
Published: January 2016

We study geometric properties of horopters defined by the criterion of equality of angle. Our primary goal is to derive the precise geometry for anatomically correct horopters. When eyes fixate on points along a curve in the horizontal visual plane for which the vergence remains constant, this curve is the larger arc of a circle connecting the eyes’ rotation centers. This isovergence circle is known as the Vieth-Müller circle. We show that, along the isovergence circular arc, there is an infinite family of horizontal horopters formed by circular arcs connecting the nodal points. These horopters intersect at the point of symmetric convergence. We prove that the family of 3D geometric horopters consists of two perpendicular components. The first component consists of the horizontal horopters parametrized by vergence, the point of the isovergence circle, and the choice of the nodal point location. The second component is formed by straight lines parametrized by vergence. Each of these straight lines is perpendicular to the visual plane and passes through the point of symmetric convergence. Finally, we evaluate the difference between the geometric horopter and the Vieth-Müller circle for typical near fixation distances and discuss its possible significance for depth discrimination and other related functions of vision that make use of disparity processing.
Nanoscale dynamics of synaptic vesicle trafficking and fusion at the presynaptic active zone
Authors: Vaithianathan Thirumalini , Henry Diane , Akmentin Wendy , Matthews Gary
Published: January 2016

The cytomatrix at the active zone (CAZ) is a macromolecular complex that facilitates the supply of release-ready synaptic vesicles to support neurotransmitter release at synapses. To reveal the dynamics of this supply process in living synapses, we used super-resolution imaging to track single vesicles at voltage-clamped presynaptic terminals of retinal bipolar neurons, whose CAZ contains a specialized structure--the synaptic ribbon--that supports both fast, transient and slow, sustained modes of transmission. We find that the synaptic ribbon serves a dual function as a conduit for diffusion of synaptic vesicles and a platform for vesicles to fuse distal to the plasma membrane itself, via compound fusion. The combination of these functions allows the ribbon-type CAZ to achieve the continuous transmitter release required by synapses of neurons that carry tonic, graded visual signals in the retina.
Areas activated during naturalistic reading comprehension overlap topological visual, auditory, and somatotomotor maps
Authors: Sood Mariam R. , Sereno Martin I.
Published: January 2016

Cortical mapping techniques using fMRI have been instrumental in identifying the boundaries of topological (neighbor-preserving) maps in early sensory areas. The presence of topological maps beyond early sensory areas raises the possibility that they might play a significant role in other cognitive systems, and that topological mapping might help to delineate areas involved in higher cognitive processes. In this study, we combine surface based visual, auditory, and somatomotor mapping methods with a naturalistic reading comprehension task in the same group of subjects to provide a qualitative and quantitative assessment of the cortical overlap between sensory-motor maps in all major sensory modalities, and reading processing regions. Our results suggest that cortical activation during naturalistic reading comprehension overlaps more extensively with topological sensory-motor maps than has been heretofore appreciated. Reading activation in regions adjacent to occipital lobe and inferior parietal lobe completely overlaps visual maps, whereas most of frontal activation for reading in dorsolateral and ventral prefrontal cortex overlaps both visual and auditory maps. Even classical language regions in superior temporal cortex are partially overlapped by topological visual and auditory maps. By contrast, the main overlap with somatomotor maps is restricted to dorsolateral frontal cortex.
High-throughput identification of C/D box snoRNA targets with CLIP and RiboMeth-seq
Authors: Gumienny Rafal , Jedlinski Dominik J , Martin Georges , Vina-Villaseca Arnau , Zavolan Mihaela
Published: January 2016

Identification of long and short RNAs, their processing and expression patterns have been greatly facilitated by high-throughput sequencing. Frequently, these RNAs act as guides for ribonucleoprotein complexes that regulate the expression or processing of target RNAs. However, to determine the targets of the many newly discovered regulatory RNAs in high-throughput remains a challenge. To globally assign guide small nucleolar RNAs to site of 2’-O-ribose methylation in human cells, we here developed novel computational methods for the analysis of data that was generated with protocols designed to capture direct small RNA-target interactions and to identify the sites of 2’-O-ribose methylation genome-wide. We thereby determined that many “orphan” snoRNAs appear to guide 2’-O-ribose methylation at sites that are targeted by other snoRNAs and that snoRNAs can be reliably captured in interaction with many mRNAs, in which a subsequent 2’-O-methylation cannot be detected. Our study provides a reliable approach to the comprehensive characterization of snoRNA-target interactions in species beyond those in which these interactions have been traditionally studied and contribute to the rapidly developing field of “epitranscriptomics”.
Genome-wide patterns of regulatory divergence revealed by introgression lines
Authors: Guerrero Rafael F , Hahn Matthew W , Moyle Leonie C , Posto Amanda L
Published: January 2016

Understanding the genetic basis for changes in transcriptional regulation is an important aspect of understanding phenotypic evolution. Using interspecific introgression lines, we infer the mechanisms of divergence in genome-wide patterns of gene expression between the nightshades Solanum pennellii and S. lycopersicum (domesticated tomato). We find that cis- and trans-regulatory changes have had qualitatively similar contributions to divergence in this clade, unlike results from other systems. Additionally, expression data from four tissues (shoot apex, ripe fruit, pollen, and seed) suggest that introgressed regions in these hybrid lines tend to be down-regulated, while background (non-introgressed) genes tend to be up-regulated. Finally, we find no evidence for an association between the magnitude of differential expression in NILs and previously determined sterility phenotypes. Our results contradict previous predictions of the predominant role of cis- over trans-regulatory divergence between species, and do not support a major role for gross genome-wide misregulation in reproductive isolation between these species.
Spherical polar Fourier assembly of protein complexes with arbitrary point group symmetry
Authors: Ritchie David W. , Grudinin Sergei
Published: January 2016

A novel fast Fourier transform-basedab initodocking algorithm calledSAMis presented, for building perfectly symmetrical models of protein complexes with arbitrary point group symmetry. The basic approach uses a novel and very fast one-dimensional symmetry-constrained spherical polar Fourier search to assemble cyclicCnsystems from a given protein monomer. Structures with higher-order (Dn,T,OandI) point group symmetries may be built using a subsequent symmetry-constrained Fourier domain search to assemble trimeric sub-units. The results reported here show that theSAMalgorithm can correctly assemble monomers of up to around 500 residues to produce a near-native complex structure with the given point group symmetry in 17 out of 18 test cases. TheSAMprogram may be downloaded for academic use at http://sam.loria.fr/.
CONRAD-2: the new neutron imaging instrument at the Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin
Authors: Kardjilov Nikolay , Hilger André , Manke Ingo , Woracek Robin , Banhart John
Published: January 2016

The construction of the new neutron imaging instrument at the BER-2 research reactor of the Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin has greatly increased the potential of the facility. The redesign of the facility included improvements of the neutron extraction and transportation systems, more effective shielding, and innovative instrumentation. The cold neutron flux at the neutron guide exit was increased by more than one order of magnitude, which allowed for an implementation of methods that require monochromatic or polarized beams, thus enabling the exploitation of nonconventional contrast mechanisms such as phase, diffraction and magnetic contrasts. The improved instrument design also facilitates the development of high-resolution neutron tomography by providing an increased beam intensity at the sample position.
Information skills training through mobile devices
Authors: Manso Rodríguez Ramón Alberto , Machado Rivero Manuel Osvaldo
Published: January 2016

Purpose

This paper aims to examine the use of different mobile devices by libraries to develop programs for information skills training, focusing on the application of quick response (QR) codes for such a purpose.

Design/methodology/approach

The study was developed in two stages; primarily an analysis of the literature was conducted to determine the theoretical framework underlying the use of this tool for information literacy. The second part examined the practical application of this tool, with examples of several university libraries. In all, 13 academic libraries were included as the sample, which were chosen randomly from a global search on the Internet under the thematic basis for the theme of the study and thus evaluate the different employment opportunities of mobile telephony in developing skills information on users. The study is complemented with an assessment from the practice of the applicability of the principles described, arriving at conclusions and recommendations.

Findings

The purpose of the study is to recognize the use given to mobile technologies from libraries, particularly the use of QR codes, to help meet the demands of users in relation to skills training information, just as you may have the need.

Originality/value

The benefits of the use of mobile devices for the development of information literacy actions are identified and the set of actions that can be implemented for training information skills through the use of QR codes are set based on all outlined by the Association of College and Research Libraries goals.
Survey of selected US academic library consortia: a descriptive study
Authors: Al-Baridi Saleh A.
Published: January 2016

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to develop and present a working model for consortia of academic libraries in Saudi Arabia. It is based on the American model of consortia operating at all levels, including local, state and region. The American consortia are highly developed, functional and have a large membership of small-, medium- and large-size libraries and are good models to be followed by other countries.

Design/methodology/approach

An email survey questionnaire (with seven closed-ended and four open-ended questions) was distributed to ten selected US academic library consortia to obtain relevant information on various operational facets and policies they have adopted.

Findings

The survey results will provide useful information to help develop a workable consortia model for Saudi Arabia. If implemented successfully, the Saudi model is expected to motivate other library groups at provincial and national levels in Saudi Arabia and regional level in the Arabian Gulf Region.

Research limitations/implications

The survey is aimed at gathering relevant information about the experiences of ten selected US academic libraries as members of various consortia.

Originality/value

While the project will start with academic libraries only, it may open membership for other libraries not only in Saudi Arabia but also for libraries of the Gulf Cooperation Council countries. The other scenario could be that instead of joining Saudi consortia, the libraries may decide to develop their own consortia.
SAFQuery: a simple and flexible advanced Web search interface
Authors: Lin Wei-Chao , Ke Shih-Wen , Tsai Chih-Fong
Published: January 2016

Purpose

This paper aims to introduce a prototype system called SAFQuery (Simple And Flexible Query interface). In many existing Web search interfaces, simple and advanced query processes are treated separately that cannot be issued interchangeably. In addition, after several rounds of queries for specific information need(s), it is possible that users might wish to re-examine the retrieval results corresponding to some previous queries or to slightly modify some of the specific queries issued before. However, it is often hard to remember what queries have been issued. These factors make the current Web search process not very simple or flexible.

Design/methodology/approach

In SAFQuery, the simple and advanced query strategies are integrated into a single interface, which can easily formulate query specifications when needed in the same interface. Moreover, query history information is provided that displays the past query specifications, which can help with the memory load.

Findings

The authors' experiments by user evaluation show that most users had a positive experience when using SAFQuery. Specifically, it is easy to use and can simplify the Web search task.

Originality/value

The proposed prototype system provides simple and flexible Web search strategies. Particularly, it allows users to easily issue simple and advanced queries based on one single query interface, interchangeably. In addition, users can easily input previously issued queries without spending time to recall what the queries are and/or to re-type previous queries.
Basic corporate governance models: a systematic review
Authors: Ahmad Shabir , Omar Rosmini
Published: January 2016

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to review the state of existing literature for various corporate governance models by answering specific questions. Much has been written in the recent years on various corporate governance (CG) models, primarily the model of Anglo-Saxon and Continental European. In particular, it investigates most examined model in literature, forums used to publish and research types conducted, as well as basic differences between the two models. Findings of this paper suggest that more evidence-based systematic reviews on various aspects and geographical regions are needed to map the entire field of CG.

Design/Methodology/Approach

– Much has been written in the recent years on various CG models, primarily the model of Anglo-Saxon and Continental European. This paper attempts to review the state of existing literature for these models by answering specific questions. In particular, it investigates most examined model in literature, forums used to publish and research types conducted, as well as basic differences between the two models. Findings of this paper suggest that more evidence-based systematic reviews on various aspects and geographical regions are needed to map the entire field of CG.

Findings

– The authors found that although both models are well-reviewed, Continental European model is mostly explored with 47 per cent contributions as compared to Anglo-Saxon with 45 per cent. Moreover, majority of contributions are based on analytical research in terms of research type (30 per cent) and primarily focus on convergence of models. In addition, some 85 per cent of selected studies are based on theoretical research work, which leads to a significant dearth of empirical studies in the literature.

Research limitations/implications

– The scope of the paper is limited to two basic models of CG, namely, Anglo-Saxon model and Continental European model in context of specific research questions.

Practical/implications

– The systematic review on the basic models will assist the practitioners and policy-makers in determining the status of existing literature based on evidences. Further, it may facilitate in formulating new laws, regulations, codes and policies.

Originality/Value

– The authors used evidenced-based systematic approach for conducting literature review of CG models. Systematic review is getting much attention of researchers, as it minimizes the bias by adopting a replicable, scientific and transparent process. This review, as contrary to narrative, contributes to the CG models literature the findings based on evidences.
Recent trends in Islamic banks’ lending modes in Bangladesh: an evaluation
Authors: Suzuki Yasushi , Uddin S. M. Sohrab
Published: January 2016

Purpose

– This paper aims to assess recent trends in lending modes and to address the reasons for and consequences of changes in Bangladesh’s Islamic banking sector.

Design/methodology/approach

– Theoretical discourse is used to generate an underpinning for the issues covered by the study. In addition, empirical evidence from the banking sector, including the information derived from interviews with the staff of three Islamic banks, is presented to achieve the research objectives.

Findings

– The findings clearly demonstrate that the Islamic banking sector has experienced a paradigm shift from participatory financing to asset-based financing. In particular, the murabaha mode of financing dominates the current lending structure, which follows the general trend of the global Islamic banking sector.

Research limitations/implications

– It is necessary to concentrate on the potential negative outcomes of the trade-based murabaha mode of financing in a developing country such as Bangladesh, as banks have less incentive under protective rent (profit) opportunities to train the experts to screen and monitor projects in other socially desirable sectors such as agriculture and manufacturing including the small and medium enterprises.

Originality/value

– Despite substantial growth of the Islamic banking sector, less research has been conducted to shed analytical light on the operations of Islamic banks from the perspective of loan disbursement to identify the disparities, if any, in between theory and practice in countries where both Islamic and conventional banks operate simultaneously. Using country-specific evidence, this study contributes to the debate by highlighting the paradigm shift of Islamic banks from participatory financing to the dominance of asset-based murabaha and other modes of lending, by identifying the fundamental causes that contribute to such a shift and by highlighting the consequences of such changes.
Integration between the Asian REIT markets and macroeconomic variables
Authors: Loo Wei Kang , Anuar Melati Ahmad , Ramakrishnan Suresh
Published: January 2016

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to examine the long-run relationship and short-term linkage between the Asian REIT markets and their respective macroeconomic variables.

Design/methodology/approach

– The data collected comprised total return REIT Index from Japan, Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Taiwan and South Korea and their macroeconomic variables from the date of availability of the data until December 2014. The macroeconomic variables are either available in monthly or quarterly basis, they will be separately tested with REIT Index respectively to their frequency. All the variables are tested for its stationarity prior to the investigation of their long-run relationship and short-term linkage using Johansen cointegration test and Granger causality test.

Findings

– The results showed that certain of the emerging REIT markets show a higher degree of integration with macroeconomic variables in the long run. This implies that the emerging REIT markets are more sensitive towards the change in macroeconomic environment in relative to the developed REIT markets.

Practical implications

– The paper implied that the distinction of each market structure and their unique way of policy implementation. The findings can assists policy makers to understand about the significance of policy implementation on the Asian REIT markets prior to decision making and also for the portfolio management my asset managers.

Originality/value

– The paper is one of the few attempts at assessing the long-term relationship and short term linkage between the Asian REIT markets and the macroeconomic variables.
The dynamic decision in risk-averse complementary product manufacturers with corporate social responsibility
Authors: Huang Yimin , Liu Liang , Qi Ershi
Published: January 2016

Purpose

– The problem of manufacturer-customer relationships is becoming the key factor of enterprise development, and the contradiction between manufacturer’s objective and customer’s satisfaction still exists. Customers claim for product safety from manufacturers, so manufacturers should take corporate social responsibility (CSR) into their company philosophy or even enhance the degree of CSR during their production. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the influences of parameters on the stability of risk-averse complementary product manufacturers.

Design/methodology/approach

– In this study, three dynamic game models are developed: manufacturer 1 – leader Stackelberg game model, manufacturer 2 – leader Stackelberg game model and Nash game model. Using bifurcation diagrams, the largest Lyapunov exponent, 0-1 test for chaos and parameter basin plots, the influences of parameters on the complex behaviors of the three models are analyzed.

Findings

– The authors demonstrate that the system exists in deterministic chaos when the parameter exceeds a certain value. The lead manufacturer will not be a beneficiary in chaotic state, and when two manufacturers have the same status the stability of the system weakens, which renders it easily chaotic.

Research limitations/implications

– In this paper, the authors make some assumptions, which when applied broadly could lead to some findings.

Practical implications

– The authors find that the lead manufacturer will derive the greatest profit and will exert the least effort compared with the follower manufacturer, but that both manufacturers will exert greater effort in the Nash game. The two manufacturers should be cautious while selecting the parameter
'
s value so that the stability of the system is maintained.

Social implications

– The research will serve as a guide for the two complementary manufacturers in their decision-making process.

Originality/value

– The originality and value of the research rest on the use of dynamic thinking in ensuring stability in the quality of complementary products considering the firms’ market powers. The research will serve as a guide for the two complementary manufacturers in their decision-making process.
Quantitative modeling of mathematical relationships in money, spending and the real economy
Authors: Choudhury Masudul Alam , Bhatti M. Ishaq
Published: January 2016

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to bring out the topic of ethics and economics in reference to the nature of complementarities that can exist between monetary and fiscal activities. The connector in such complementarities is the unity of knowledge that can be generated in the inter-causal relations between monetary and fiscal activities.

Design/methodology/approach

– The methodology adopted is of measuring out by quantitative modeling how well there exists complementary relations or otherwise between the Central Bank and commercial bank in order to mathematically explain the role of participatory learning behavior using money, debt, and spending variables.

Findings

– The argument placed takes the conceptual form of result to show that there would be a prolonged extension of the non-inflationary and technological induction of economic growth in a regime of complementing money and fiscal policies.

Originality/value

– The role of the quantity of money in a non-inflationary economic growth is set against the background of the tripartite inter-causal relationships between the Central Bank, the commercial bank, and the real economy. Analytical methods used bring out the role of knowledge in the inter-causal relations termed as circular causation for the attainment of social well-being in response to a stable and advancing economy with the ethicality of unity of knowledge.
Pattern classification using grey tolerance rough sets
Authors: Hu Yi-Chung
Published: January 2016

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to propose that the grey tolerance rough set (GTRS) and construct the GTRS-based classifiers.

Design/methodology/approach

– The authors use grey relational analysis to implement a relationship-based similarity measure for tolerance rough sets.

Findings

– The proposed classification method has been tested on several real-world data sets. Its classification performance is comparable to that of other rough-set-based methods.

Originality/value

– The authors design a variant of a similarity measure which can be used to estimate the relationship between any two patterns, such that the closer the relationship, the greater the similarity will be.
Method for validating CT length measurement of cracks inside solder joints
Authors: Garami Tamás , Krammer Oliver , Harsányi Gábor , Martinek Péter
Published: January 2016

Purpose

– This paper aims to develop a method to measure the length of cracks inside solder joints, which enables the validation of computed tomography (CT) crack length measurements.

Design/methodology/approach

– Cracks were formed inside solder joints intentionally by aging solder joints of 0603 size resistors with thermal shock (TS) test (−40 to +140°C, 2,000 cycles), and CT images were captured about them with different rotational increment (1/4, 1/2 and 1°) of sample projection. The length of cracks was also measured with our method, which is based on capturing high-resolution radiography X-ray images about the cracks in two perpendicular projection planes. The radiography results were compared to the CT measurements. The percentage error for the different CT rotational increment settings was calculated, and the optimal CT settings have been determined.

Findings

– The results have proven that reducing the rotational increment increases the sharpness of the captured images and the accuracy of crack length measurements. Nevertheless, the accuracy compared to high-resolution radiography measurements is only slightly better at 1/4° rotational increment than in the case of 1/2° rotational increment. It should be also noted that the 1/4° increment requires twice as much time for capturing the images as the 1/2° increment. So, the 1/2° rotational increment of sample projection is the optimal setting in our investigated case for measuring crack lengths.

Practical implications

– The developed method is applicable to find the optimal settings for CT crack length measurements, which provides faster analysation of large quantity samples used, e.g. at life-time tests.

Originality/value

– There is a lack of information in the literature regarding the optimisation of CT measurement set-up, e.g. a slightly larger value of the sample rotational increment can provide acceptable resolution with much faster processing time. Thus, the authors developed a method and performed research about optimising CT measurement parameters.
Comparative study on proper thermocouple attachment for vapour phase soldering profiling
Authors: Géczy Attila , Kvanduk Bíborka , Illes Balazs , Harsányi Gábor
Published: January 2016

Purpose

– The paper aims to present a comparative study of various thermocouple (TC) attaching methods for the proper measurement of soldering temperature profiling during vapour phase soldering (VPS). The heat transfer process during VPS is different from common methods, while the required heat for reflow is provided by the condensation. The condensate is a flowing layer on the board, where the dynamic behaviour also affects the local conditions on the surfaces. Temperature measurements based on TCs are also affected this way; it is important to investigate the process for deeper understanding.

Design/methodology/approach

– Bare printed circuit boards (PCBs) were prepared for standard K-Type TCs attachment with industry standard materials: kapton polyimide tape, aluminium tape, SMD adhesive and high-temperature solder (HTS). Heating experiments were performed in a batch-type VPS oven with Galden LS240 fluid and fixed oven parameters.

Findings

– According to the specific attachment requirements, HTS and Alu-tape are the suggested methods for better profiling reliability and repeatability. Alu-tape is the preferred all-around method, for fast, exchangeable, cheap, reliable and repeatable profiling in a VPS oven. It was presented that the heating factor (Q?) gives more reliable comparison overview; the time period-based comparisons may be affected by the thermal inertia, while heating factor also includes temperature conditions at the given time points.

Originality/value

– The paper presents the reliability of the presented methods for VPS and present suggestions for the use of different TC ends and attaching materials during condensation heating of the PCBs. Also a new approach on profiling data evaluation based on the heating factor is presented and suggested for wider use.
Inhibitory effects of antibiofilm compound 1 against Staphylococcus aureus biofilms
Authors: Shrestha Looniva , Kayama Shizuo , Sasaki Michiko , Kato Fuminori , Hisatsune Junzo , Tsuruda Keiko , Koizumi Kazuhisa , Tatsukawa Nobuyuki , Yu Liansheng , Takeda Kei , Sugai Motoyuki
Published: January 2016

A novel benzimidazole molecule that was identified in a small‐molecule screen and is known as antibiofilm compound 1 (ABC‐1) has been found to prevent bacterial biofilm formation by multiple bacterial pathogens, including Staphylococcus aureus, without affecting bacterial growth. Here, the biofilm inhibiting ability of 156 μM ABC‐1 was tested in various biofilm‐forming strains of S. aureus. It was demonstrated that ABC‐1 inhibits biofilm formation by these strains at micromolar concentrations regardless of the strains' dependence on Polysaccharide Intercellular Adhesin (PIA), cell wall‐associated protein dependent or cell wall‐ associated extracellular DNA (eDNA). Of note, ABC‐1 treatment primarily inhibited Protein A (SpA) expression in all strains tested. spa gene disruption showed decreased biofilm formation; however, the mutants still produced more biofilm than ABC‐1 treated strains, implying that ABC‐1 affects not only SpA but also other factors. Indeed, ABC‐1 also attenuated the accumulation of PIA and eDNA on cell surface. Our results suggest that ABC‐1 has pleotropic effects on several biofilm components and thus inhibits biofilm formation by S. aureus.
Heterogeneous Investor Sentiment and Institutional Real Estate Investments
Authors: Freybote Julia , Seagraves Philip A.
Published: January 2016

Commercial real estate investors differ in their sentiment due to factors such as market expertise, investment strategies and expectations about future market conditions. Focusing on the office market, we investigate whether investors with a multiasset investment focus such as pension funds or insurance companies rely on the sentiment of specialized real estate investors such as public REITs or private developers/owners as source of information in their investment decision‐making. Using disaggregated sentiment measures and vector autoregression (VAR) we find evidence that changes in REIT and private real estate investor sentiment lead to changes in institutional investor sentiment in the suburban office and office REIT market. Our findings suggest that institutional investors rely on the sentiment of specialized real estate investors to make real estate investment decisions. Our study contributes to the existing literature on sentiment in commercial real estate markets by emphasizing the heterogeneity of investor sentiment and introducing a disaggregated sentiment measure. We also contribute to the institutional herding literature.