bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Involvement and brand equity: a conceptual model for Muslim tourists
Authors: Shafaei Fatemeh , Mohamed Badaruddin
Published: March 2015

Purpose

– The aim of this paper is to present a model in which the relationship between Muslims’ involvement with traveling to Islamic destinations and Islamic destination brand equity is investigated.

Design/methodology/approach

– Based on the existing theoretical and empirical research on involvement and brand equity in tourism marketing and the literature on Muslim tourists’ needs and culture, a conceptual model for Muslim tourists is developed. The model investigates the relationships between Muslims’ psychological motivations for traveling to Islamic destinations and the evaluation of destination Islamic brand.

Findings

– The study shows that the more Muslims are involved in traveling to Islamic destinations, the more likely they evaluate the key dimensions of destination Islamic brand. This is demonstrated by the influence of Muslims’ involvement on their awareness of Islamic destinations, their image of the Islamic destination attributes, the perceived quality of Islamic offerings, the perceived Islamic value and their loyalty toward Islamic destinations.

Practical implications

– The study evaluates the Islamic brand equity in the context of Islamic tourism destinations and in relation to Muslims’ interests in traveling to Islamic countries. The study contributes to better understand the Islamic destinations and how to maximize the benefits of their Islamic attributes. It is suggested that Islamic attributes should be highlighted more for Muslim tourists interested in traveling to Islamic countries. Investigating the concepts analyzed will help tourism destinations to integrate marketing and promotional campaigns and build a more powerful Islamic brand in Muslim markets.

Originality/value

– The relationship between involvement and brand equity has not been yet explored adequately, especially in the context of Islamic branding. This study adds to the previous studies in which the link between personal involvement with a specific destination and destination brand equity was explored. The role of Islamic values in this relationship is highlighted. The study contributes to destination branding studies by being one of the primary works, which applies the concept of brand equity to Islamic destinations.
Factors influencing travel to Islamic destinations: an empirical analysis of Kuwaiti nationals
Authors: Nassar Mohamed A. , Mostafa Mohamed M , Reisinger Yvette
Published: March 2015

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to analyze the influence of travel motivation, Muslim-friendly amenities and lifestyle, cognitive and affective destination image and quality of service on Kuwaiti travelers’ intentions to visit Islamic tourism destinations.

Design/methodology/approach

– A self-administered questionnaire consisting of multiple-item scales was developed. A convenience sample of 224 Kuwaitis was surveyed. The hierarchical regression analysis tested whether and how much the influencing factors predicted a significant amount of the variance in travel. The analysis was controlled for the effects of demographic variables.

Findings

– Travel motivation and cognitive and affective image had the largest significant effects on the Kuwaiti travelers’ intention to visit Islamic destinations. Contrary to expectations, the findings suggested that Muslim-friendly amenities and quality of service did not affect Kuwaitis’ travel decisions.

Originality/value

– This study provides a starting point for future empirical research into Islamic tourism in the Middle East. It provides an understanding of the importance of travel motivation and destination image in attracting Kuwaiti travelers to Islamic destinations.
Tribological problems in shaft hoist ropes wear process
Authors: Styp-Rekowski Michal , Manka Eugeniusz , Matuszewski Maciej , Madej Monika , Ozimina Dariusz
Published: March 2015

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper was to create conditions for the correct decision concerning an exchange of the used rope for a new one. A cognitive goal was to indicate the causes of its wear and determining its mechanism reliability and durability.

Design/methodology/approach

– The magnetic, organoleptic and strength standard tests of lifting triangle-strand ropes of a mining hoist were carried out. This way the current state of the tested rope was defined.

Findings

– On the basis of an analysis of the results of the performed tests: magnetic, organoleptic and fatigue tests, it can be said that the magnetic one is accurate enough only to indicate the place of the rope’s biggest weakening, though the degree of weakening is not defined precisely – with significant excess. The accurate rope’s destruction degree is indicated by the strength tests.

Practical implications

– The results of described investigations can improve safety of the mining rope mechanisms operation, even for an increased resource.

Originality/value

– The elementary wear processes, which are the basic reason for the destruction of the rope, are indicated. Rope destruction is caused mainly by tribological factors: abrasion, corrosion and fatigue wear. Magnetic tests are accurate enough only to indicate the place of the rope’s biggest weakening (qualitative index). Most precisely, the rope’s destruction degree (quantitative index) can be found by the strength tests.
Research on the tribological properties of a textured lubricating wear-resistant coating modified by nano-SiC at high temperature
Authors: Zhao Yuncai , Yang Fei , Guo Yongming
Published: March 2015

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to investigate the tribological properties of a textured lubricating wear-resistant coating modified by nano-SiC at a high temperature. Its aim is to explore the influence of a new composite method on the organisation and structure of sprayed coatings as well as the evolution rules governing their high-temperature tribological properties.

Design/methodology/approach

– A KF301/WS2 lubricating, wear-resisting, coating was prepared on matrix material GCr15 by applying supersonic plasma spraying technology. On the basis of this sample, using nano-SiC particles as a filler, the KF301/WS2 nano-modified coating with its round, pit-type texture was prepared by laser re-melting technology and a surface texturing technique. Two kinds of coating micro-organisations and structures were examined by scanning electron microscopy, and the tribological properties of both the modified and conventional coatings were studied at a high temperature.

Findings

– Results showed that nano-particles could effectively improve the coating micro-structure, and make the structure denser and more uniform, thus significantly increasing the wear resistance of the coating. When the friction and wear processes were stable, the friction coefficient decreased by 13 per cent, while the wear loss decreased by 45.9 per cent.

Originality/value

– This research concentrating on the study of the process and performance of coatings doped with nano-particles by laser re-melting incorporating simultaneous surface texturing, and studies of their high-temperature tribological properties. That is because applying nano-particle modification technology to the development of wear-resistant coatings, and by applying the nano-particles to such coatings by thermal spraying technology, they can achieve a modification of the coating which makes the structure denser and more uniform.
Analysis of wear generation in mine excavator bucket
Authors: Sarkar Mayukh , Ghosh Subrata Kumar , Mukherjee P.S.
Published: March 2015

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to explore the wear phenomena on the bottom surface of an excavator bucket and optimize the design parameters to reduce wear rate by converting sliding motion to rolling motion of rock during the time of operation.

Design/methodology/approach

– A test rig has been developed to study the wear phenomena and type of wear on the excavator bucket. Three different bottom plates have been fabricated for experiments to observe the difference of severity of wear in terms of volume of material removal.

Findings

– It has been observed that the bottom plate having the mesh-type wear bar pattern was comparatively more resistive to wear than the other two models. Wear-affected zone on the bottom plate was also detected and represented with the help of colour contour.

Practical implications

– It is expected that these findings will contribute towards the development of the bottom plate of the excavator bucket with some new pattern of a wear bar, which will be efficient to reduce the phenomena on its surface.

Originality/value

– The excavator is one of the important equipment in coal mining. A proper design of the excavator bucket will reduce the wear, as well as the running cost of equipment, and increase the rate of production.
“Man, this frustrates me”: change of consumer emotions in online discussions
Authors: Haavisto Piia , Sandberg Birgitta
Published: March 2015

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to analyse how consumer emotions towards innovation change over online discussions.

Design/methodology/approach

– This is an empirical study based on substantial data collected from 22 discussion forums, of which the ten longest discussions on heart-rate monitors were chosen for further qualitative analysis.

Findings

– The results show that a variety of consumer emotions can be detected in online discussions. Negative emotions clearly seem to dominate and be generally stronger than those that are positive. The results also show how product, company and behaviour enabled by the product (in this case, training) evoke different emotions in customers.

Research limitations/implications

– The study focuses only on emotional expressions presented by consumers online. However, the analysis of consumers’ basic emotions, their evolution and grounds can be transferred to other settings in which interaction among customers is studied; for example, in focus group interviews.

Practical implications

– Results show how negative emotions felt towards a product rapidly tend to extend to anger and frustration targeted at the respective firm. This highlights the importance of company intervention.

Originality/value

– By analysing the change of emotions longitudinally, the authors are able to show the increase of anger over online discussions. The authors show how the target of emotion changes and how emotions spread from customer to customer.
Do audit opinions reflect earnings persistence?
Authors: Vichitsarawong Thanyaluk , Pornupatham Sompong
Published: March 2015

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to examine the association between audit opinion and earnings persistence of listed companies in Thailand from 2004 to 2008.

Design/methodology/approach

– We use archival data and hand collected data in regression analysis. Content analysis was used to perform decomposition analysis of audit modifications.

Findings

– Firms receiving modified opinions have lower earnings persistence than firms receiving unqualified opinions, and the degree of earnings persistence varies among types of modifications. We find that firms with a qualified opinion or a disclaimer have lower earnings persistence than firms receiving an unqualified opinion with an emphasis of matter (UEM). However, we find no difference in earnings persistence between firms receiving a qualification and a disclaimer. Content analysis reveals that there is information in certain types of modified opinions with respect to earnings quality. Firms receiving a scope limitation qualification and a going concern disclaimer have lower earnings persistence than firms receiving an UEM due to going concern issues.

Research limitations/implications

– Audit modifications reflect different degrees of problematic issues in clients’ firms, resulting in different impacts on earnings persistence. Thus, policymakers and regulators should emphasize the importance of using auditors’ reports. Strengthened enforcement by regulators makes individual auditors more aware of reputation risk and more likely to express appropriate audit opinions.

Originality/value

– We examine a broader set of modified audit opinions than those used in prior research. Our study offers the opportunity to examine the association between earnings persistence and different types of modified opinions, especially a disclaimer, which has been rarely found in prior research.
Exploring citizen satisfaction with police in India
Authors: Madan Manish , Nalla Mahesh K.
Published: March 2015

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to examine citizens’ perception of police in India, particularly the authors examine the factors influencing citizen satisfaction with the police in India.

Design/methodology/approach

– Using survey data collected from the residents in a neighborhood of the capital city and from the passengers on a 41-hour-1,281 miles journey traveling from the northern part to the southern part of the country and return via Indian Railways, this study empirically analyzed citizens’ perceptions of police and factors that accounted for the variation in Indian citizens’ assessment of police. Consistent with the literature, this study integrates a broader range of explanatory variables to explain citizens’ perceptions toward police, including demographic characteristics, views about professionalism in police, police performance, fairness, police corruption, and citizens’ perceptions about their safety in their neighborhood.

Findings

– Older citizens reported higher satisfaction with the police. Among the contextual characteristics, the authors find a positive relationship between perceived police performance, fairness, professionalism, and citizen satisfaction with police. As expected, perceived police deviance is associated with lower citizen satisfaction with police.

Practical implications

– Findings of the study provide Indian police administrators with important references and directions to improve police performance and move to increase citizen satisfaction about police. It also adds to the limited literature on citizens’ perceptions of the police in India.

Originality/value

– This study is an attempt to systematically assess the citizens’ perception of police in India. The researchers believe that this as an original contribution in the body of criminal justice research, particularly to the scholarship on policing in India. Moreover, the examination of citizens’ satisfaction of police highlights their detailed views about professionalism of police, police performance, corruption, fairness and their perceptions about the safety in their neighborhood.
Effective crowd policing: empirical insights on avoiding protest violence
Authors: Nassauer Anne
Published: March 2015

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to connect sociology, criminology, and social psychology to identify specific factors that keep protests peaceful, discusses empirical examples of effective peacekeeping, and develops practical peacekeeping guidelines.

Design/methodology/approach

– The analysis systematically compared 30 peaceful and violent protests in the USA and Germany to identify peaceful interaction routines and how they are disrupted. It employed a triangulation of visual and document data on each demonstration, analyzing over 1,000 documents in total. The paper relies on qualitative analysis based on the principles of process tracing.

Findings

– Results show that specific interaction sequences and emotional dynamics can break peaceful interaction routines and trigger violence. Single interactions do not break these routines, but certain combinations do. Police forces and protesters need to avoid these interaction dynamics to keep protests peaceful. Communication between both sides and good police management are especially important.

Research limitations/implications

– The paper highlights the need to examine the role of situational interactions and emotional dynamics for the emergence and avoidance of protest violence more closely.

Practical implications

– Findings have implications for police practice and training and for officers’ and protesters’ safety.

Originality/value

– Employing recent data and an interdisciplinary approach, the study systematically analyzes peacekeeping in protests, developing guidelines for protest organizers and police.
Factors that affect the arrest decision in domestic violence cases
Authors: Tatum Kimberly M. , Pence Rebecca
Published: March 2015

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to examine domestic violence calls for service data in one Florida county for a two-year period from July 2004 through July 2006.

Design/methodology/approach

– Data for this study include information gathered on domestic violence calls for service during a two-year period (n=3,200). This secondary data were analyzed by logistic regression to determine statistically significant predictor variables.

Findings

– This study found that severity of crime, presence of children, presence of an injunction, and victim injury increased the likelihood of an arrest. Victim race, location of call, victim alcohol use, and length of relationship did not affect likelihood of arrest.

Research limitations/implications

– Use of secondary data precluded examination of additional relevant variable information.

Practical implications

– The research shows clear law violations and seriousness of the acts correlate to an increased likelihood of an arrest. Arrest research should inform police training and policy.

Social implications

– The research is consistent with other research that shows that law enforcement officers continue to play a significant role in responding to domestic violence crime and suggest that researchers should continue to study arrest practices. In this study, arrest was more likely when factors existed that may have indicated a more serious crime.

Originality/value

– There is an ongoing need to examine agency-level response to domestic violence. This paper adds to the literature on the law enforcement response to domestic violence. The paper suggests areas for future research.
Shared and transformational leadership in the police
Authors: Masal Doris
Published: March 2015

Purpose

– Although an increasingly complex work environment requires shared forms of leadership in the police, there is little empirical evidence on how to facilitate shared leadership in the police. The purpose of this paper is to explore the role of transformational leaders in supporting shared leadership.

Design/methodology/approach

– The study is based on an online survey in a German state police (3,000 invited participants, a 39 percent response rate). The empirical analysis relies on a structural equation modeling (SEM) approach.

Findings

– The study findings reveal that transformational leaders exert a direct, positive influence on shared leadership and have an indirect, positive influence through their capacity to clarify organizational goals and create job satisfaction for followers.

Originality/value

– This large-scale study is the first to examine antecedents of shared leadership in the police. The results expand on the literature on transformational leadership by highlighting transformational leaders’ role as “SuperLeaders” in supporting shared leadership.
Creating a Science of Homelessness During the Reagan Era
Authors: JONES MARIAN MOSER
Published: March 2015

Policy Points:

A retrospective analysis of federally funded homeless research in the 1980s serves as a case study of how politics can influence social and behavioral science research agendas today in the United States.

These studies of homeless populations, the first funded by the National Institute of Mental Health, demonstrated that only about a third of the homeless population was mentally ill and that a diverse group of people experienced homelessness.

This groundbreaking research program set the mold for a generation of research and policy characterizing homelessness as primarily an individual‐level problem rather than a problem with the social safety net.

Context

A decade after the nation's Skid Rows were razed, homelessness reemerged in the early 1980s as a health policy issue in the United States. While activists advocated for government‐funded programs to address homelessness, officials of the Reagan administration questioned the need for a federal response to the problem. In this climate, the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) launched a seminal program to investigate mental illness and substance abuse among homeless individuals. This program serves as a key case study of the social and behavioral sciences’ role in the policy response to homelessness and how politics has shaped the federal research agenda.

Methods

Drawing on interviews with former government officials, researchers, social activists, and others, along with archival material, news reports, scientific literature, and government publications, this article examines the emergence and impact of social and behavioral science research on homelessness.

Findings

Research sponsored by the NIMH and other federal research bodies during the 1980s produced a rough picture of mental illness and substance abuse prevalence among the US homeless population, and private foundations supported projects that looked at this group's health care needs. The Reagan administration's opposition to funding “social research,” together with the lack of private‐sector support for such research, meant that few studies examined the relationship between homelessness and structural factors such as housing, employment, and social services.

Conclusions

The NIMH's homelessness research program led to improved understanding of substance abuse and mental illness in homeless populations. Its primary research focus on behavioral disorders nevertheless unwittingly reinforced the erroneous notion that homelessness was rooted solely in individual pathology. These distortions, shaped by the Reagan administration's policies and reflecting social and behavioral scientists’ long‐standing tendencies to emphasize individual and cultural rather than structural aspects of poverty, fragmented homelessness research and policy in enduring ways.
Policy Commercializing Nonprofits in Health: The History of a Paradox From the 19th Century to the ACA
Authors: FOX DANIEL M.
Published: March 2015

Policy Points:

Health policy in the United States has, for more than a century, simultaneously and paradoxically incentivized the growth as well as the commercialization of nonprofit organizations in the health sector.

This policy paradox persists during the implementation of the Affordable Care Act of 2010.

Context

For more than a century, policy in the United States has incentivized both expansion in the number and size of tax‐exempt nonprofit organizations in the health sector and their commercialization. The implementation of the Affordable Care Act of 2010 (ACA) began yet another chapter in the history of this policy paradox.

Methods

This article explores the origin and persistence of the paradox using what many scholars call “interpretive social science.” This methodology prioritizes history and contingency over formal theory and methods in order to present coherent and plausible narratives of events and explanations for them. These narratives are grounded in documents generated by participants in particular events, as well as conversations with them, observing them in action, and analysis of pertinent secondary sources. The methodology achieves validity and reliability by gathering information from multiple sources and making disciplined judgments about its coherence and correspondence with reality.

Findings

A paradox with deep historical roots persists as a result of consensus about its value for both population health and the revenue of individuals and organizations in the health sector. Participants in this consensus include leaders of governance who have disagreed about many other issues. The paradox persists because of assumptions about the burden of disease and how to address it, as well as about the effects of biomedical science that is translated into professional education, practice, and the organization of services for the prevention, diagnosis, treatment, and management of illness.

Conclusions

The policy paradox that has incentivized the growth and commercialization of nonprofits in the health sector since the late 19th century remains influential in health policy, especially for the allocation of resources. However, aspects of the implementation of the ACA may constrain some of the effects of the paradox.
Cloning & sequence identification of Hsp27 gene and expression analysis of the protein on thermal stress in Lucilia cuprina
Authors: Singh Manish K. , Tiwari Pramod K.
Published: March 2015

Hsp27, a highly conserved small molecular weight heat shock protein, is widely known to be developmentally regulated and heat inducible. Its role in thermotolerance is also implicated. This study is a sequel of our earlier studies to understand the molecular organization of heat shock genes/proteins and their role in development and thermal adaptation in a sheep pest, Lucilia cuprina (blowfly), which exhibits unusually high adaptability to a variety of environmental stresses, including heat and chemicals. In this report our aim was to understand the evolutionary relationship of Lucilia hsp27 gene/protein with those of other species and its role in thermal adaptation. We sequence characterized the Lchsp27 gene (coding region) and analyzed its expression in various larval and adult tissues under normal as well as heat shock conditions. The nucleotide sequence analysis of 678 bps long‐coding region of Lchsp27 exhibited closest evolutionary proximity with Drosophila (90.09%), which belongs to the same order, Diptera. Heat shock caused significant enhancement in the expression of Lchsp27 gene in all the larval and adult tissues examined, however, in a tissue specific manner. Significantly, in Malpighian tubules, while the heat‐induced level of hsp27 transcript (mRNA) appeared increased as compared to control, the protein level remained unaltered and nuclear localized. We infer that Lchsp27 may have significant role in the maintenance of cellular homeostasis, particularly, during summer months, when the fly remains exposed to high heat in its natural habitat.
FRIENDS WITH MY FUTURE SELF: LONGITUDINAL VIVIDNESS INTERVENTION REDUCES DELINQUENCY
Authors: VAN GELDER JEAN‐LOUIS , LUCIANO EVA C. , WEULEN KRANENBARG MARLEEN , HERSHFIELD HAL E.
Published: March 2015

In a field experiment, we use a novel method to test whether instilling a greater sense of vividness of the future self motivates people to act in a more future‐oriented way and reduces their delinquent involvement. We manipulate vividness of the future self by having participants, a sample of high‐school youth (N = 133), “befriend” an avatar representing their future self on a social network website. For 7 days, they reply to short messages from their future self designed to trigger thinking about that distant self. Using repeated‐measures analysis of variance (ANOVA), we find that participants who had been linked to their future self report less delinquent involvement, whereas controls did not. Furthermore, the results of a nonparametric bootstrapping procedure show that this effect is mediated by changes in vividness of the future self, such that increases in vividness lead to lower self‐reported delinquency. We conclude that vividness of the future self holds promise not only as a cognitive explanation for the failure to make informed cost–benefit trade‐offs but also for interventions aiming to reduce delinquency.
Development of an Ultrasensitive Immunochromatographic Assay (ICA) Strip for the Rapid Detection of Phenylethanolamine A in Urine and Pork Samples
Authors: Junhua Li , Chunsheng Li , Meng Wu , Yan Zhang , Xiaofei Ma , Hua Cheng , Jinghui Yan
Published: March 2015

In this study a one‐step immunochromatographic assay based on competitive format was developed for the rapid detection of phenylethanolamine A (PEAA) residues in urine and pork samples. A monoclonal antibody against PEAA was produced from BALB/c mice immunized with the PEAA‐BSA conjugate. The results of this qualitative test strip were to be interpreted visually. The visual detection limit (VDL) and threshold level of the optimized immunochromatographic assay for PEAA were 0.1 ng/mL and 0.5 ng/mL, respectively. Cross‐reactions with other β‐agonists were not significant inhibitions to the performance of the test strip assay. The results from the test strip were in a good agreement with those obtained using a high performance liquid chromatography‐tandem mass spectrometry (HPLC‐MS/MS) assay. The immunochromatographic assay developed here was a useful on‐site screening tool that is rapid to use, low in cost, and extremely convenient for the detection of PEAA in urine samples and pork samples.
Comparison of primary tumour volumes delineated on four‐dimensional computed tomography maximum intensity projection and 18F‐fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography computed tomography images of non‐small cell lung cancer
Authors: Duan Yili , Li Jianbin , Zhang Yingjie , Wang Wei , Sun Xiaorong , Fan Tingyong , Shao Qian , Xu Min , Guo Yanluan , Shang Dongping
Published: March 2015

Introduction

The study aims to compare the positional and volumetric differences of tumour volumes based on the maximum intensity projection (MIP) of four‐dimensional CT (4DCT) and 18F‐fluorodexyglucose (18F‐FDG) positron emission tomography CT (PET/CT) images for the primary tumour of non‐small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).

Methods

Ten patients with NSCLC underwent 4DCT and 18F‐FDG PET/CT scans of the thorax on the same day. Internal gross target volumes (IGTVs) of the primary tumours were contoured on the MIP images of 4DCT to generate IGTVMIP. Gross target volumes (GTVs) based on PET (GTVPET) were determined with nine different threshold methods using the auto‐contouring function. The differences in the volume, position, matching index (MI) and degree of inclusion (DI) of the GTVPET and IGTVMIP were investigated.

Results

In volume terms, GTVPET2.0 and GTVPET20% approximated closely to IGTVMIP with mean volume ratio of 0.93 ± 0.45 and 1.06 ± 0.43, respectively. The best MI was between IGTVMIP and GTVPET20% (0.45 ± 0.23). The best DI of IGTVMIP in GTVPET was IGTVMIP in GTVPET20% (0.61 ± 0.26).

Conclusions

In 3D PET images, the GTVPET contoured by standardised uptake value (SUV) 2.0 or 20% of maximal SUV (SUVmax) approximate closely to the IGTVMIP in target size, while the spatial mismatch is apparent between them. Therefore, neither of them could replace IGTVMIP in spatial position and form. The advent of 4D PET/CT may improve the accuracy of contouring the perimeter for moving targets.
PhytoREF: a reference database of the plastidial 16S rRNA gene of photosynthetic eukaryotes with curated taxonomy
Authors: Decelle Johan , Romac Sarah , Stern Rowena F. , Bendif El Mahdi , Zingone Adriana , Audic Stéphane , Guiry Michael D. , Guillou Laure , Tessier Désiré , Le Gall Florence , Gourvil Priscillia , Dos Santos Adriana L. , Probert Ian , Vaulot Daniel , de Vargas Colomban , Christen Richard
Published: March 2015

Photosynthetic eukaryotes have a critical role as the main producers in most ecosystems of the biosphere. The ongoing environmental metabarcoding revolution opens the perspective for holistic ecosystems biological studies of these organisms, in particular the unicellular microalgae that often lack distinctive morphological characters and have complex life cycles. To interpret environmental sequences, metabarcoding necessarily relies on taxonomically curated databases containing reference sequences of the targeted gene (or barcode) from identified organisms. To date, no such reference framework exists for photosynthetic eukaryotes. In this study, we built the PhytoREF database that contains 6490 plastidial 16S rDNA reference sequences that originate from a large diversity of eukaryotes representing all known major photosynthetic lineages. We compiled 3333 amplicon sequences available from public databases and 879 sequences extracted from plastidial genomes, and generated 411 novel sequences from cultured marine microalgal strains belonging to different eukaryotic lineages. A total of 1867 environmental Sanger 16S rDNA sequences were also included in the database. Stringent quality filtering and a phylogeny‐based taxonomic classification were applied for each 16S rDNA sequence. The database mainly focuses on marine microalgae, but sequences from land plants (representing half of the PhytoREF sequences) and freshwater taxa were also included to broaden the applicability of PhytoREF to different aquatic and terrestrial habitats. PhytoREF, accessible via a web interface (http://phytoref.fr), is a new resource in molecular ecology to foster the discovery, assessment and monitoring of the diversity of photosynthetic eukaryotes using high‐throughput sequencing.
Tag jumps illuminated – reducing sequence‐to‐sample misidentifications in metabarcoding studies
Authors: Schnell Ida Bærholm , Bohmann Kristine , Gilbert M. Thomas P.
Published: March 2015

Metabarcoding of environmental samples on second‐generation sequencing platforms has rapidly become a valuable tool for ecological studies. A fundamental assumption of this approach is the reliance on being able to track tagged amplicons back to the samples from which they originated. In this study, we address the problem of sequences in metabarcoding sequencing outputs with false combinations of used tags (tag jumps). Unless these sequences can be identified and excluded from downstream analyses, tag jumps creating sequences with false, but already used tag combinations, can cause incorrect assignment of sequences to samples and artificially inflate diversity. In this study, we document and investigate tag jumping in metabarcoding studies on Illumina sequencing platforms by amplifying mixed‐template extracts obtained from bat droppings and leech gut contents with tagged generic arthropod and mammal primers, respectively. We found that an average of 2.6% and 2.1% of sequences had tag combinations, which could be explained by tag jumping in the leech and bat diet study, respectively. We suggest that tag jumping can happen during blunt‐ending of pools of tagged amplicons during library build and as a consequence of chimera formation during bulk amplification of tagged amplicons during library index PCR. We argue that tag jumping and contamination between libraries represents a considerable challenge for Illumina‐based metabarcoding studies, and suggest measures to avoid false assignment of tag jumping‐derived sequences to samples.
Modelling Household Energy Consumption Using ABS Survey Data
Authors: Cao Kay , Mathews Rosalynn , Wang Summer
Published: March 2015

This study develops a model of household energy consumption using data from the ABS 2012 Household Energy Consumption Survey. Using a reduced‐form equation approach, household energy consumption is found to be influenced by income, energy price, location and other household and dwelling characteristics. The price elasticity of household energy demand is found to be inelastic. Treating household insulation as endogenous rejects the rebound effect hypothesis. The paper also suggests further research directions when additional survey data become available.
Circulating PD‐L1 in NSCLC patients and the correlation between the level of PD‐L1 expression and the clinical characteristics
Authors: Zhang Jie , Gao Jing , Li Yanyan , Nie Jun , Dai Ling , Hu Weiheng , Chen Xiaoling , Han Jindi , Ma Xiangjuan , Tian Guangming , Wu Di , Shen Lin , Fang Jian
Published: March 2015

Background

The programmed cell death‐1/programmed cell death‐1 ligand (PD‐1/PD‐L1) pathway plays a crucial role in tumor evasion. This study evaluated the association between circulating PD‐L1 expression and clinical characteristics in patients with advanced non‐small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).

Methods

A total of 109 advanced NSCLC and 65 healthy patients from the Beijng Cancer Hospital were enrolled in the study. Circulating PD‐L1 expression was tested by enzyme‐linked immunosorbent assay. The associations between the level of PD‐L1 expression and clinicopathologic features and prognosis were statistically analyzed.

Results

The expression of PD‐L1 in advanced NSCLC patients was significantly upregulated compared with the healthy control (P < 0.001). The expression of PD‐L1 was significantly correlated with abdominal organ metastasis (P = 0.004). A high PD‐L1 expression had a worse prognosis than a low expression in patients (18.7 vs. 26.8 month, P < 0.001).

Conclusions

PD‐L1 was elevated in advanced NSCLC patients and may play an important role in tumor immune evasion and patient prognosis.
Clonal wound re‐epithelialisation after radiotherapy for skin cancer
Authors: McKay Michael J , McKay Catherine
Published: March 2015

Simple clinical observations can give useful insights into biological processes in humans. Here we present a temporal series of pictures addressing the tissue response of a basal cell carcinoma to radiotherapy, where re‐epithelialisation (RE) after radiotherapy appeared to occur by clonal regrowth, rather than the usually described sheet‐likeRE.
Ocular side–effects of topical corticosteroids: what a dermatologist needs to know
Authors: Daniel Benjamin S , Orchard David
Published: March 2015

Topical corticosteroids are used frequently in dermatology and atopic dermatitis without significant adverse effects. Though ocular diseases such as glaucoma and cataracts are known complications of systemic corticosteroids, the role of topical corticosteroids is limited to case reports. This review assesses the literature regarding topical steroids and their role in ocular diseases. There is evidence of harm to vision when potent topical corticosteroids are inappropriately used for prolonged periods to periorbital sites. There is no evidence to date that weak TCS to the face or potent TCS to areas other than the eyes results in ocular complications. Further research trials are required in this area.
Fractional carbon dioxide laser in recalcitrant vulval lichen sclerosus
Authors: Lee Andrew , Lim Adrian , Fischer Gayle
Published: March 2015

Vulval lichen sclerosus is an uncommon skin condition that can usually be managed with topical corticosteroids to maintain remission. However, there is a subset of patients in whom it remains recalcitrant despite treatment with super‐potent topical corticosteroids. We report a case series of four patients undergoing fractional carbon dioxide laser resurfacing and one with ablative carbon dioxide laser for severe, hyperkeratotic vulval lichen sclerosus not responding to super‐potent topical corticosteroids. In these patients, carbon dioxide laser was successful in achieving remission. Their vulval lichen sclerosus was subsequently able to be maintained with topical corticosteroid treatment.
War Hypotheses: Drug Trafficking, Sovereignty and the Armed Forces in Mexico
Authors: FONDEVILA GUSTAVO , QUINTANA‐NAVARRETE MIGUEL
Published: March 2015

This essay analyses how Mexican presidents have interpreted the concepts of drug trafficking and national security and how these particular connotations have redefined national sovereignty and the specific role of the armed forces in protecting this sovereignty. A qualitative technique of discourse analysis is used to examine public speeches by Zedillo (1994–2000), Fox (2000–2006) and Calderón (2006–2012). The conclusions suggest that drug trafficking andUSomnipresence are the two main issues that shaped Mexico's national security threats during this period, with qualitatively distinct trajectories.
Antidepressants but not antipsychotics have antiepileptogenic effects with limited effects on comorbid depressive‐like behaviour in the WAG/Rij rat model of absence epilepsy
Authors: Citraro Rita , Leo Antonio , De Fazio Pasquale , De Sarro Giovambattista , Russo Emilio
Published: March 2015

Background and Purpose

Two of the most relevant unmet needs in epilepsy are represented by the development of disease‐modifying drugs able to affect epileptogenesis and/or the study of related neuropsychiatric comorbidities. No systematic study has investigated the effects of chronic treatment with antipsychotics or antidepressants on epileptogenesis. However, such drugs are known to influence seizure threshold.

Experimental Approach

We evaluated the effects of an early long‐term treatment (ELTT; 17 weeks), started before seizure onset (P45), with fluoxetine (selective 5‐HT‐reuptake inhibitor), duloxetine (dual‐acting 5‐HT‐noradrenaline reuptake inhibitor), haloperidol (typical antipsychotic drug), risperidone and quetiapine (atypical antipsychotic drugs) on the development of absence seizures and comorbid depressive‐like behaviour in the WAG/Rij rat model. Furthermore, we studied the effects of these drugs on established absence seizures in adult (6‐month‐old) rats after a chronic 7 weeks treatment.

Key Results

ELTT with all antipsychotics did not affect the development of seizures, whereas, both ELTT haloperidol (1 mg·kg−1 day−1) and risperidone (0.5 mg·kg−1 day−1) increased immobility time in the forced swimming test and increased absence seizures only in adult rats (7 weeks treatment). In contrast, both fluoxetine (30 mg·kg−1 day−1) and duloxetine (10–30 mg·kg−1 day−1) exhibited clear antiepileptogenic effects. Duloxetine decreased and fluoxetine increased absence seizures in adult rats. Duloxetine did not affect immobility time; fluoxetine 30 mg·kg−1 day−1 reduced immobility time while at 10 mg·kg−1 day−1 an increase was observed.

Conclusions and Implications

In this animal model, antipsychotics had no antiepileptogenic effects and might worsen depressive‐like comorbidity, while antidepressants have potential antiepileptogenic effects even though they have limited effects on comorbid depressive‐like behaviour.
The effects of pituitary and thyroid disorders on haemostasis: potential clinical implications
Authors: Kyriakakis Nikolaos , Lynch Julie , Ajjan Ramzi , Murray Robert D.
Published: March 2015

Disturbances of coagulation and fibrinolysis are usually multifactorial and growing evidence suggests that endocrinopathies modulate the haemostatic balance. The thrombotic alterations in endocrine disorders range from mild laboratory clotting abnormalities with little clinical significance to serious thrombotic and bleeding disorders directly related to hormonal disturbances. This literature review focuses on presenting the current data on the effects of thyroid and pituitary disorders on various parameters of the haemostatic system. With the exception of overt hypothyroidism which appears to cause a bleeding tendency, the rest of the endocrinopathies discussed in this review (subclinical hypothyroidism, hyperthyroidism, endogenous hypercortisolaemia, growth hormone deficiency, acromegaly, prolactinoma/hyperprolactinaemia and hypogonadotrophic hypogonadism) are associated with a hypercoagulable and hypofibrinolytic state, increasing the overall cardiovascular risk and thromboembolic potential in these patients. In most studies, the haemostatic abnormalities seen in endocrine disorders are usually reversible with successful treatment of the underlying condition and biochemical disease remission. High‐quality studies on larger patient cohorts are needed to produce robust evidence on the effects of endocrine disorders and their therapeutic interventions on coagulation and fibrinolysis, as well as on the long‐term mortality and morbidity outcomes in association with endocrine‐related haemostatic imbalance. Given the rarity of some of the endocrine disorders, multicentre studies are required to achieve this target.
Prognostic significance of polo‐like kinases in retinoblastoma: correlation with patient outcome, clinical and histopathological parameters
Authors: Singh Lata , Pushker Neelam , Sen Seema , Singh Mithalesh K , Chauhan Feeroj A , Kashyap Seema
Published: March 2015

Background

Retinoblastoma is evolving, but it is still a therapeutic challenge for pediatric oncologists. Polo‐like kinases (PLKs) plays an important role in cell cycle events. They play a crucial role in cell proliferation which may lead to tumour formation. The objective of this study is to investigate the role of PLK1 and PLK3 proteins in human retinoblastoma tissues.

Design

Non‐randomized, prospective study was performed in the Dr R. P. Centre for Ophthalmic Sciences, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi, India.

Participants

This study included 74 primary enucleated retinoblastoma tissues.

Methods

Expression of PLK1 and PLK3 protein were assessed in primary enucleated retinoblastoma tissues by immunohistochemistry and western blotting.

Main Outcome Measures

Expression of PLK1 and PLK3 protein were correlated with clinical and histopathological parameters, tumour staging and overall survival of patients.

Results

Immunohistochemical results revealed expression of PLK1 in 47/74 (63.51%) cases and PLK3 in 31/74 (41.89%) cases. Western blotting confirmed the immunoreactivity results. Expression of PLK1 showed correlation with poor differentiation and tumour invasion. In addition, PLK1 was statistically significant with massive choroidal invasion, whereas PLK3 did not correlate with any of the clinical or histopathological parameters. There was no statistical correlation in the overall survival of patients with PLK1 and PLK3 expression.

Conclusions

PLK1 expression was associated with poor tumour differentiation and histopathological high‐risk factors. These proteins may be involved in tumorigenesis and progression of disease. These results suggest that PLK1 may act as a potential therapeutic target and a promising marker for developing potent small molecule inhibitors of PLK isoforms in retinoblastoma.
Associations between economic loss, financial strain and the psychological status of Wenchuan earthquake survivors
Authors: Huang Yunong , Wong Hung , Tan Ngoh Tiong
Published: March 2015

This study examines the effects of economic loss on the life satisfaction and mental health of Wenchuan earthquake survivors. Economic loss is measured by earthquake impacts on the income and houses of the survivors. The correlation analysis shows that earthquake impact on income is significantly correlated with life satisfaction and depression. The regression analyses indicate that earthquake impact on income is indirectly associated with life satisfaction and depression through its effect on financial strain. The research highlights the importance of coping strategies in maintaining a balance between economic status and living demands for disaster survivors.
Bridging the sanitation gap between disaster relief and development
Authors: Lai Ka‐Man , Ramirez Claudia , Liu Weilong , Kirilova Darina , Vick David , Mari Joe , Smith Rachel , Lam Ho‐Yin , Ostovari Afshin , Shibakawa Akifumi , Liu Yang , Samant Sidharth , Osaro Lucky
Published: March 2015

By interpreting disasters as opportunities to initiate the fulfilment of development needs, realise the vulnerability of the affected community and environment, and extend the legacy of relief funds and effort, this paper builds upon the concept linking relief, rehabilitation and development (LRRD) in the sanitation sector. It aims to use a composite of case studies to devise a framework for a semi‐hypothetical scenario to identify critical components and generic processes for a LRRD action plan. The scenario is based on a latrine wetland sanitation system in a Muslim community. Several sub‐frameworks are developed: (i) latrine design; (ii) assessment of human waste treatment; (iii) connective sanitation promotion strategy; and (iv) ecological systems and environmental services for sanitation and development. This scenario illustrates the complex issues involved in LRRD in sanitation work and provides technical notes and references for a legacy plan for disaster relief and development.