bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Depletion of stromal cells expressing fibroblast activation protein-α from skeletal muscle and bone marrow results in cachexia and anemia
Authors: Roberts Edward W. , Deonarine Andrew , Jones James O. , Denton Alice E. , Feig Christine , Lyons Scott K. , Espeli Marion , Kraman Matthew , McKenna Brendan , Wells Richard J.B. , Zhao Qi , Caballero Otavia L. , Larder Rachel , Coll Anthony P. , O’Rahilly Stephen , Brindle Kevin M. , Teichmann Sarah A. , Tuveson David A. , Fearon Douglas T.
Published: May 2013

Fibroblast activation protein-α (FAP) identifies stromal cells of mesenchymal origin in human cancers and chronic inflammatory lesions. In mouse models of cancer, they have been shown to be immune suppressive, but studies of their occurrence and function in normal tissues have been limited. With a transgenic mouse line permitting the bioluminescent imaging of FAP+ cells, we find that they reside in most tissues of the adult mouse. FAP+ cells from three sites, skeletal muscle, adipose tissue, and pancreas, have highly similar transcriptomes, suggesting a shared lineage. FAP+ cells of skeletal muscle are the major local source of follistatin, and in bone marrow they express Cxcl12 and KitL. Experimental ablation of these cells causes loss of muscle mass and a reduction of B-lymphopoiesis and erythropoiesis, revealing their essential functions in maintaining normal muscle mass and hematopoiesis, respectively. Remarkably, these cells are altered at these sites in transplantable and spontaneous mouse models of cancer-induced cachexia and anemia. Thus, the FAP+ stromal cell may have roles in two adverse consequences of cancer: their acquisition by tumors may cause failure of immunosurveillance, and their alteration in normal tissues contributes to the paraneoplastic syndromes of cachexia and anemia.
A hemolytic pigment of Group B Streptococcus allows bacterial penetration of human placenta
Authors: Whidbey Christopher , Harrell Maria Isabel , Burnside Kellie , Ngo Lisa , Becraft Alexis K. , Iyer Lakshminarayan M. , Aravind L. , Hitti Jane , Adams Waldorf Kristina M. , Rajagopal Lakshmi
Published: May 2013

Microbial infection of the amniotic fluid is a significant cause of fetal injury, preterm birth, and newborn infections. Group B Streptococcus (GBS) is an important human bacterial pathogen associated with preterm birth, fetal injury, and neonatal mortality. Although GBS has been isolated from amniotic fluid of women in preterm labor, mechanisms of in utero infection remain unknown. Previous studies indicated that GBS are unable to invade human amniotic epithelial cells (hAECs), which represent the last barrier to the amniotic cavity and fetus. We show that GBS invades hAECs and strains lacking the hemolysin repressor CovR/S accelerate amniotic barrier failure and penetrate chorioamniotic membranes in a hemolysin-dependent manner. Clinical GBS isolates obtained from women in preterm labor are hyperhemolytic and some are associated with covR/S mutations. We demonstrate for the first time that hemolytic and cytolytic activity of GBS is due to the ornithine rhamnolipid pigment and not due to a pore-forming protein toxin. Our studies emphasize the importance of the hemolytic GBS pigment in ascending infection and fetal injury.
Black box exceptional groups of Lie type
Authors: Kantor W. , Magaard K.
Published: May 2013

If a black box group is known to be isomorphic to an exceptional simple group of Lie type of (twisted) rank

>
1

>1

, other than any

2

F
4

(
q
)

^2\kern -.8pt F_4(q)

, over a field of known size, a Las Vegas algorithm is given to produce a constructive isomorphism. In view of its timing, this algorithm yields an upgrade of all known nearly linear time Monte Carlo permutation group algorithms to Las Vegas algorithms when the input group has no composition factor isomorphic to any group

2

F
4

(
q
)

^2\kern -.8pt F_4(q)

or

2

G
2

(
q
)

^2G_2(q)

.
Specified intersections
Authors: Mubayi Dhruv , Rödl Vojtech
Published: May 2013

Let

M
⊂
[
n
]
:=
{
0
,
…
,
n
}

M \subset [n]:=\{0, \ldots , n\}

and

A

{\mathcal {A}}

be a family of subsets of an

n
n

element set such that

|

A
∩
B

|

∈
M

|A \cap B| \in M

for every

A
,
B
∈

A

A, B \in \mathcal {A}

. Suppose that

l
l

is the maximum number of consecutive integers contained in

M
M

and

n
n

is sufficiently large. Then
\[

|

A

|

>
min
{

1.622
n

10

2
l
+
5

,

2

n

/

2
+
l

log
2

⁡
n

}
.

|\mathcal {A}|> \min \{1.622^n 10^{2l+5} \, ,\quad 2^{n/2+l\log ^2 n}\}.

\]
The first bound complements the previous bound of roughly

(
1.99

)
n

(1.99)^n

due to Frankl and the second author which was proved under the assumption that

M
=
[
n
]
∖
{
n

/

4
}

M=[n]\setminus \{n/4\}

. For

l
=
o
(
n

/

log
2

⁡
n
)

l=o(n/\log ^2 n)

, the second bound above becomes better than the first bound. In this case, it yields

2

n

/

2
+
o
(
n
)

2^{n/2+o(n)}

, and this can be viewed as a generalization (in an asymptotic sense) of the famous Eventown theorem of Berlekamp (1969) and Graver (1975). We conjecture that our bound

2

n

/

2
+
o
(
n
)

2^{n/2+o(n)}

remains valid as long as

l
>
n

/

10

l>n/10

.

Our second result complements the result of Frankl and the second author in a different direction. Fix

ε
>
0

\varepsilon >0

and

ε
n
>
t
>
n

/

5

\varepsilon n > t>n/5

and let

M
=
[
n
]
∖
(
t
,
t
+

n

0.525

)

M=[n]\setminus (t, t+n^{0.525})

. Then, in the notation above, we prove that for

n
n

sufficiently large,
\[

|

A

|

≤
n

(

n

(
n
+
t
)

/

2

)

.

|\mathcal {A}| \le n{n \choose (n+t)/2}.

\]
This is essentially sharp, aside from the multiplicative factor of

n
n

. The short proof uses the Frankl-Wilson theorem and results about the distribution of prime numbers. We conjecture that a similar bound holds for

M
=
[
n
]
∖
{
t
}

M=[n]\setminus \{t\}

whenever

ε
n
>
t
>
n

/

3

\varepsilon n > t > n/3

. A similar conjecture when

t
t

is fixed and

n
n

is large was made earlier by Frankl (1977) and proved by Frankl and Füredi (1984).
DeMix: deconvolution for mixed cancer transcriptomes using raw measured data
Authors: Ahn Jaeil , Yuan Ying , Parmigiani Giovanni , Suraokar Milind B. , Diao Lixia , Wistuba Ignacio I. , Wang Wenyi
Published: May 2013

Motivation: Tissue samples of tumor cells mixed with stromal cells cause underdetection of gene expression signatures associated with cancer prognosis or response to treatment. In silico dissection of mixed cell samples is essential for analyzing expression data generated in cancer studies. Currently, a systematic approach is lacking to address three challenges in computational deconvolution: (i) violation of linear addition of expression levels from multiple tissues when log-transformed microarray data are used; (ii) estimation of both tumor proportion and tumor-specific expression, when neither is known a priori; and (iii) estimation of expression profiles for individual patients.

Results: We have developed a statistical method for deconvolving mixed cancer transcriptomes, DeMix, which addresses the aforementioned issues in array-based expression data. We demonstrate the performance of our model in synthetic and real, publicly available, datasets. DeMix can be applied to ongoing biomarker-based clinical studies and to the vast expression datasets previously generated from mixed tumor and stromal cell samples.

Availability: All codes are written in C and integrated into an R function, which is available at http://odin.mdacc.tmc.edu/∼wwang7/DeMix.html.

Contact:  wwang7@mdanderson.org

Supplementary information:  Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online.
Population dynamics of the invasive lithodid crab, Paralithodes camtschaticus, in a typical bay of the Barents Sea
Authors: Dvoretsky Alexander G. , Dvoretsky Vladimir G.
Published: May 2013

Dvoretsky, A. G., and Dvoretsky, V. G. 2013. Population dynamics of the invasive lithodid crab, Paralithodes camtschaticus, in a typical bay of the Barents Sea. – ICES Journal of Marine Science, 70: 1255–1262. We investigated population dynamics of the introduced red king crab, Paralithodes camtschaticus (Tilesius, 1815), in Dalnezelenetskaya Bay, a typical coastal site of the Eastern Murman (Barents Sea) in summer over an 8-year period. In this bay, as in other coastal sites, juvenile crabs were most abundant. Among large crabs, the sex ratio was highly biased to females suggesting the important role of shallow water areas in reproduction of the red king crab. In 2002–2004, the carapace length (CL) frequency distribution of small crabs tended to be bimodal (30 and 60 mm). In 2005–2007 and 2009, crabs with a modal CL of 20 and 40 mm dominated. For small crabs, weight–length relationships were similar in males and females, while for large crabs the relationships differed significantly between sexes. Large males had a greater carapace width (CW) and merus length (ML), and higher CW/CL and ML/CL ratios, than large females due to sexual dimorphism. In 2002–2007, the total number of red king crabs was estimated to be 4100–7400 individuals; in 2008, we observed a marked decline to 350 individuals; in 2009, the total stock increased again to 3760 individuals. The observed patterns are in accordance with the stock dynamics reported for other coastal areas and could be associated with high levels of illegal fishing including recreational diving.
Consequences of human modification of the global nitrogen cycle
Authors: Erisman Jan Willem , Galloway James N. , Seitzinger Sybil , Bleeker Albert , Dise Nancy B. , Petrescu A. M. Roxana , Leach Allison M. , de Vries Wim
Published: May 2013

The demand for more food is increasing fertilizer and land use, and the demand for more energy is increasing fossil fuel combustion, leading to enhanced losses of reactive nitrogen (N
r
) to the environment. Many thresholds for human and ecosystem health have been exceeded owing to N
r
pollution, including those for drinking water (nitrates), air quality (smog, particulate matter, ground-level ozone), freshwater eutrophication, biodiversity loss, stratospheric ozone depletion, climate change and coastal ecosystems (dead zones). Each of these environmental effects can be magnified by the ‘nitrogen cascade’: a single atom of N
r
can trigger a cascade of negative environmental impacts in sequence. Here, we provide an overview of the impact of N
r
on the environment and human health, including an assessment of the magnitude of different environmental problems, and the relative importance of N
r
as a contributor to each problem. In some cases, N
r
loss to the environment is the key driver of effects (e.g. terrestrial and coastal eutrophication, nitrous oxide emissions), whereas in some other situations nitrogen represents a key contributor exacerbating a wider problem (e.g. freshwater pollution, biodiversity loss). In this way, the central role of nitrogen can remain hidden, even though it actually underpins many trans-boundary pollution problems.
The marine nitrogen cycle: recent discoveries, uncertainties and the potential relevance of climate change
Authors: Voss Maren , Bange Hermann W. , Dippner Joachim W. , Middelburg Jack J. , Montoya Joseph P. , Ward Bess
Published: May 2013

The ocean's nitrogen cycle is driven by complex microbial transformations, including nitrogen fixation, assimilation, nitrification, anammox and denitrification. Dinitrogen is the most abundant form of nitrogen in sea water but only accessible by nitrogen-fixing microbes. Denitrification and nitrification are both regulated by oxygen concentrations and potentially produce nitrous oxide (N
2
O), a climate-relevant atmospheric trace gas. The world's oceans, including the coastal areas and upwelling areas, contribute about 30 per cent to the atmospheric N
2
O budget and are, therefore, a major source of this gas to the atmosphere. Human activities now add more nitrogen to the environment than is naturally fixed. More than half of the nitrogen reaches the coastal ocean via river input and atmospheric deposition, of which the latter affects even remote oceanic regions. A nitrogen budget for the coastal and open ocean, where inputs and outputs match rather well, is presented. Furthermore, predicted climate change will impact the expansion of the oceans' oxygen minimum zones, the productivity of surface waters and presumably other microbial processes, with unpredictable consequences for the cycling of nitrogen. Nitrogen cycling is closely intertwined with that of carbon, phosphorous and other biologically important elements via biological stoichiometric requirements. This linkage implies that human alterations of nitrogen cycling are likely to have major consequences for other biogeochemical processes and ecosystem functions and services.
Affordable simultaneous hyperspectral imaging
Authors: Hamid Muhammed Hamed
Published: May 2013

Purpose

The aim of the research project which resulted in this work is to achieve a cost‐effective approach for instantaneous hyperspectral imaging.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper presents a simulation study and an experimental evaluation of a novel imaging spectroscopy technique, where multi‐channel image data are acquired instantaneously and transformed into spectra by using a statistical modelling approach. A digital colour camera equipped with an additional colour filter array was used to acquire an instantaneous single image that was demosaicked to generate a multi‐channel image. A statistical transformation approach was employed to convert this image into a hyperspectral one.

Findings

The feasibility of this method was investigated through extensive simulation and experimental tasks where promising results were obtained.

Practical implications

The small size of the initially acquired single instantaneous image makes this approach useful for applications where video‐rate hyperspectral imaging is required.

Originality/value

For the first time, a simplified prototype of this novel imaging spectroscopy technique was built and evaluated experimentally. And the results were compared with those of a more ideal simulation study. Recommendations for how to improve the prototype were also suggested as a result of the comparison between the simulation and the prototype evaluation results.
Visual navigation system for small unmanned aerial vehicles
Authors: Ivancsits Christian , Ricky Lee Min‐Fan
Published: May 2013

Purpose

This paper aims to address three major issues in the development of a vision‐based navigation system for small unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) which can be characterized as follows: technical constraints, robust image feature matching and an efficient and precise method for visual navigation.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors present and evaluate methods for their solution such as wireless networked control, highly distinctive feature descriptors (HDF) and a visual odometry system.

Findings

Proposed feature descriptors achieve significant improvements in computation time by detaching the explicit scale invariance of the widely used scale invariant feature transform. The feasibility of wireless networked real‐time control for vision‐based navigation is evaluated in terms of latency and data throughput. The visual odometry system uses a single camera to reconstruct the camera path and the structure of the environment, and achieved and error of 1.65 percent w.r.t total path length on a circular trajectory of 9.43 m.

Originality/value

The originality/value lies in the contribution of the presented work to the solution of visual odometry for small unmanned aerial vehicles.
Examining the stress and coping process of mega‐event employees
Authors: Odio Michael A. , Walker Matthew , Kim May
Published: May 2013

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine specific stressors present in mega‐event work and the coping strategies used by long‐term mega‐event employees.

Design/methodology/approach

Using a general inductive approach to analyze the data and identify themes, semi‐structured interviews with six employees from organizing committees of subsequent National Football League (NFL) Super Bowls, and four employees from the Special Olympics in Greece helped to assess the presence of specific stressors and the corresponding coping strategies.

Findings

Patterns relating to the specific stressors (i.e. workload, time pressure, role stressors, job insecurity and work‐family conflict) and several themes emerged across all stressors including the selflessness of the participants in making personal sacrifices due to work demands. A sense of time and place emerged since the participants were cognizant of their role in a prestigious event. Time was also relevant as the end‐date approached which was simultaneously a source of stress and the date when their stress would be over. For most, the period after this end‐date was marked by a sense of sadness and a desire to repeat the experience. Finally, the career paths of the participants appeared to influence their actions and coping strategies.

Originality/value

Work in mega‐event organizing committees has not been examined from a stress and coping perspective; this study is the first to examine issues in this unique work setting by applying stress theory. Moreover, the findings suggest that organizing committee employees appraise and cope with stress differently than in more traditional contexts.
Reducing waste to landfill in the UK: identifying impediments and critical solutions
Authors: Oyedele Lukumon O. , Regan Martin , von Meding Jason , Ahmed Ashraf , Ebohon Obas John , Elnokaly Amira
Published: May 2013

Purpose

The UK construction industry produces up to one third of all waste to landfill. This study aims to identify specific project practices impeding the reduction of waste in construction projects as well as uncovering potential waste solutions throughout the project delivery process. The rationale being that for such a drastic reduction in waste to landfill, holistic and extensive measures would be required.

Design/methodology/approach

A two‐way methodological approach was used. This comprised qualitative unstructured interviews and a quantitative questionnaire survey of three major stakeholders in the UK construction industry: clients, architects and contractors.

Findings

Design factors remain the major cause of impediments to waste reduction to landfill. Critical impediments include clients making waste prevention a top priority in projects, overly complex designs, waste taking a low priority compared to project time and costs, lack of concerns by designers for buildability, among others. Critical solutions include early supply chain involvement in design process, choosing materials for their durability, early communication of design changes to all parties, longer project programmes and better lead times, among others.

Practical implications

In all, the target of halving construction waste to landfill based on the 2008 benchmark is achievable but would require construction companies to take it upon themselves to implement the proposed solutions suggested by this study.

Originality/value

The value of this research is to provide UK construction companies with solutions to reduce waste and aid the reaching of the landfill target, as landfill is decreasing as a solution to waste. In addition the cost savings on reducing waste could be crucial for companies in this current economic climate.
A meshless method for solving a two‐dimensional transient inverse geometric problem
Authors: Dawson Michael , Borman Duncan , Hammond Robert B. , Lesnic Daniel , Rhodes Dominic
Published: May 2013

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to apply the meshless method of fundamental solutions (MFS) to the two‐dimensional time‐dependent heat equation in order to locate an unknown internal inclusion.

Design/methodology/approach

The problem is formulated as an inverse geometric problem, using non‐invasive Dirichlet and Neumann exterior boundary data to find the internal boundary using a non‐linear least‐squares minimisation approach. The solver will be tested when locating a variety of internal formations.

Findings

The method implemented was proven to be both stable and reasonably accurate when data were contaminated with random noise.

Research limitations/implications

Owing to limited computational time, spatial resolution of internal boundaries may be lower than some similar case investigations.

Practical implications

This research will have practical implications to the modelling and monitoring of crystalline deposit formations within the nuclear industry, allowing development of future designs.

Originality/value

Similar work has been completed in regards to the steady state heat equation, however to the best of the authors' knowledge no previous work has been completed on a time‐dependent inverse inclusion problem relating to the heat equation, using the MFS. Preliminary results presented here will have value for possible future design and monitoring within the nuclear industry
Flame and temperature wave propagation characteristic of methane‐air mixture in mine tunnels
Authors: Zhang Qi , Pang Lei
Published: May 2013

Purpose

Explosions are the main type of accident causing casualties in underground coal mines. Little attention has been devoted to investigating the flame propagations for methane‐air explosion in a tunnel with full scale. This paper seeks to address this topic.

Design/methodology/approach

Based on the numerical simulation and the analysis, the propagation rule of flame and temperature waves inside and outside the space occupied by methane/air mixture at the various concentrations in a tunnel were obtained in this work.

Findings

The original interface of methane‐air mixture and air moves forward in the explosion and the original mixture area extends. For the methane‐air mixture with rich fuel concentration, the flame speed increases with distance within a range beyond the original position of the interface between the mixture and air. The flame speed reaches maximum value outside the original area of methane‐air mixture with rich fuel concentration.

Originality/value

Based on the numerical simulation and the analysis, the propagation rule of flame and temperature wave inside and outside the space occupied by methane/air mixture at the various concentrations in a tunnel were obtained.
Savings measurement for capital equipment purchasing: challenges and conceptual model
Authors: Maucher Daniel , Hofmann Erik
Published: May 2013

Purpose

– Many companies are not satisfied with the methods used to calculate savings for capital equipment purchasing (CEP), and the existing academic literature does not provide adequate suggestions for solving this problem. Therefore, the authors will aim to analyze how companies measure savings for CEP and attempt to identify the main challenges in this area. In order to understand which savings measurement system for CEP is appropriate in a specific situation, they will explore the relevant determinants and effects of savings measurement for CEP.

Design/methodology/approach

– After presenting a description of the theoretical foundations of CEP and savings measurement, the article presents three cases of savings measurement for CEP from manufacturing industry and pinpoints the major challenges involved. These challenges are then discussed with reference to the relevant literature and a conceptual model for savings measurement for CEP is developed.

Findings

– The authors identify six procedure-specific and seven behavior-specific challenges. Procedure-specific challenges in savings measurement for CEP primarily address topics concerning components and calculation methods, while behavior-specific challenges mainly involve manipulation, trust and judgment. The authors’ formulated propositions state that savings measurement for CEP is influenced by internal and external determinants and affects CEP's performance, manipulation and trust, as well as judgments which may be made about CEP's savings measurement results.

Practical implications

– The managerial implications of the authors’ research concern the successful design and process of savings measurement for CEP.

Originality/value

– Savings measurement for CEP, as a special case of purchasing performance measurement, has received little attention in the academic literature. Thus, the authors will present calculation methods, along with identifying and discussing challenges and revealing relevant determinants and effects.
Investigating the roles of interpersonal and interorganizational trust in IT outsourcing success
Authors: Qi Cong , Chau Patrick Y.K.
Published: May 2013

Purpose

Trust, as one of the core components of a relationship, has attracted research attention from many disciplines. From the perspective of IT outsourcing, this paper aims to divide trust into two levels, interpersonal trust and interorganizational trust, and explore the effects of these two levels of trust on knowledge sharing and IT outsourcing success.

Design/methodology/approach

Based on social exchange theory and the theory of organization boundary systems, a theoretical model was developed and tested empirically with the responses to a cross‐sectional survey. Data were collected from key informants of 143 firms that had outsourced at least part of their IT functions.

Findings

The data analysis results showed that interpersonal trust plays a more dominant role than does interorganizational trust in making IT outsourcing successful and the extent of knowledge sharing has a significant mediating effect between interpersonal trust and IT outsourcing success.

Originality/value

From the managerial perspective, findings from this study once again emphasize the importance of relationship management (trust and knowledge sharing) on overall IT outsourcing success. Paying attention to interpersonal trust is an effective way for an organization to build and maintain a successful IT outsourcing relationship with its service provider.
Customer orientation, merchandising competencies, and financial performance of small fashion retailers in Bangkok
Authors: Chotekorakul Warin , Nelson James
Published: May 2013

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to examine customer orientation and fashion merchandising competencies to learn which strategic option has a stronger relationship with retailer financial performance.

Design/methodology/approach

A cross‐sectional survey was used to collect self‐report data from a random sample of 275 small specialty retailers of women's clothing in Bangkok. Retailers offer similar merchandise assortments and customer services in dense, highly competitive, agglomerative environments. The survey form contained multi‐item scales measuring customer orientation, fashion merchandising competencies, and store financial performance. Bivariate correlations, multiple regression coefficients, and hierarchical linear model coefficients describe relationships of interest, controlling for retailer location.

Findings

Results show medium to large effect sizes for several fashion merchandising competencies but no substantive effects for the two customer orientation constructs. Effect sizes depend on whether financial performance is measured subjectively or as retailer return on investment or as probability of retailer survival.

Research limitations/implications

Data are restricted in range and reported effect sizes are smaller than true effect sizes. Data also are influenced by common method variance, influencing reported effect sizes in an opposite direction. Effect sizes may or may not describe causal relationships because of the study's cross‐sectional design. Because of the study's setting in Bangkok, results must be extended to similar retail settings with caution. Results indicate that a clustered fashion retailer can improve financial performance by striving for a fashion leadership position, anticipating fashion trends, and offering merchandise assortments in terms of styles and usages. Results indicate that a clustered fashion retailer will have difficulty improving financial performance via customer service and CRM activities.

Originality/value

Few studies in fashion retailing address predictors of financial performance at the individual store level. The authors help fill this knowledge gap by examining relationships between customer service activities, CRM activities, and key merchandising competencies and retailer subjective financial performance, return on investment, and probability of survival. Retailers compete in a spatially confined area, facilitating comparison shopping and heightening rivalries between retailers.
The motivational drivers of fast fashion avoidance
Authors: Kim Hyunsook , Jung Choo Ho , Yoon Namhee
Published: May 2013

Purpose

This study aims to investigate the conceptual structure of fast fashion avoidance among young consumers in Korea. The effects of negative beliefs on the behavioural intention regarding fast fashion avoidance are empirically examined.

Design/methodology/approach

A conceptual model of fast fashion avoidance is proposed and tested based on the literature and blog analyses. Web‐based online survey data are analyzed by second‐order factor analysis and hierarchical regression.

Findings

The second‐order structure of eight negative beliefs is statistically supported. Among these negative beliefs, poor performance and deindividuation have positive effects on fast fashion avoidance. While inauthenticity has a negative effect, big store discomfort and foreignness have an interaction effect with regards to the lack of alternatives.

Research limitations/implications

The results are based on convenient sampling of young female adults. However, it is tested in Korea, of which global fast fashion retailing is in its growing stage.

Originality/value

This study represents a new attempt to apply the concept of brand avoidance to an explanation of fast fashion avoidance, and test it using empirically‐collected survey data.
Fast fashion companies coping with internationalization: driving the change or changing the model?
Authors: Runfola Andrea , Guercini Simone
Published: May 2013

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the relationship between the fast fashion formula and the process of firm internationalization. Possible answers are sought to the following research question: does the fast fashion formula drive the internationalization process (driving the change), or does the internationalization process change the model (changing the model).

Design/methodology/approach

The paper presents and discusses the data collected during a ten‐year longitudinal case analysis of an Italian fast fashion company. Three main steps in the firm's international expansion are identified, and the firm's strategies for managing its fast model in each are then discussed.

Findings

The findings highlight how the process of internationalization has exerted pressure on the firm's business model. In particular, the case reveals that the company's international development has had a strong impact on three main components of its fast fashion model.

Originality/value

The paper contributes to previous work on fast fashion by focusing on the sustainability of such models during international expansion, a key theme which has to date received little attention in ongoing academic debate on the fast fashion phenomenon.
Explicit leader behaviour preferences
Authors: Littrell Romie F. , Serra Yurtkoru E. , Kepir Sinangil Handan , Durmuş Beril , Katrinli Alev , Gulem Atabay Remziye , Günay Gonca , Güneri Çangarli Burcu
Published: May 2013

Purpose

In this study the authors endeavour to further develop and validate the Behavioural and Contingency theory of leadership.

Design/methodology/approach

In a field survey research study, the authors collect, analyse, compare, and discuss explicit leader behaviour preferences of employed businesspeople in Istanbul and Izmir, Turkey, rating their “ideal managerial leader” and their actual organisational manager.

Findings

In Istanbul and Izmir businesspeople tend to prefer leaders who focus on managing the business system over other considerations such as relationship management; task orientation is more important than relationship orientation. In the business environment, there appear to be little or no differences in preferences relating to gender; men and women have nearly identical preferences; age has some influence; generally, older businesspeople tend to have higher preference scores for a managerial leader who clearly defines his or her own role, and lets followers know what is expected, and pushes them to work harder and exceed past performance. Subordinates neither received nor expected Paternal leader behaviour. They expected and did receive moderately Authoritarian leader behaviour.

Originality/value

The large majority of studies of leadership focus on implicit leadership theory, describing characteristics and traits of leaders. This study employs explicit leader behaviour theory and operationalisations to identify subordinates’ ideal leader behaviour compared to actual organisational manager behaviour in Turkey.
A survey of students' use of and satisfaction with university subscribed online resources in two specialized universities in a developing country
Authors: Zabed Ahmed S.M.
Published: May 2013

Purpose

The main purpose of this paper is to describe the results of a survey conducted in two specialized public universities in Bangladesh to assess students' electronic information resources use and their satisfaction with university subscribed resources.

Design/methodology/approach

A structured questionnaire was used to assess the use of and satisfaction with university subscribed electronic resources by the students. The major problems faced by them in accessing online resources were also identified. In order to analyze the influence of students' demographic characteristics on overall satisfaction with university subscribed resources, Mann‐Whitney and Kruskal‐Wallis tests were carried out. The problems faced by the students were tested in relation to their opinion on overall satisfaction using chi‐square test.

Findings

The survey results showed that the students are not at all satisfied with the current level of university subscribed online resources. The students identified limited access to computers and slow download speed as major problems. These problems do affect electronic resources use by students in these universities. However, the problems are mainly related to poor ICT infrastructure which may also lead to other drawbacks such as unwillingness to use the resources regularly and thus low satisfaction with such resources.

Originality/value

This is the first time an attempt has been made to empirically assess the use of university subscribed online information resources by the students in Bangladesh.
NFAIS 2013: In Search of Answers: Unlocking New Value from Content: conference report
Authors: Kesselman Martin
Published: May 2013

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to report on the NFAIS 2013 Conference.

Design/methodology/approach

This is a conference report.

Findings

The paper provides original reporting and viewpoints.

Originality/value

The author provides personal views on the conference.
Water quality for irrigation and discharges from tanneries
Authors: Ostoich Marco , Carcereri Marco
Published: May 2013

Purpose

Water protection is one of the primary objectives of the Water Framework Directive 2000/60/EC. The paper aims to identify suitable indices for water quality and specifically for water used for irrigation in the Fratta‐Gorzone river basin (Northern Italy) affected by discharges from the largest tannery district in Italy.

Design/methodology/approach

The DPSIR framework is proposed here for the development of a water quality monitoring and control system. A set of indices is applied as a comprehensive environmental management system in order to: assess the degree of achievement of water quality objectives; identify measures to be applied to pressure sources; verify the extent of application of local measures.

Findings

The highest values measured in the river Fratta‐Gorzone refer to the following parameters: chemical oxygen demand (COD), chlorides, sulphates, chromium, E. coli and, in some cases, other parameters. At basin level, the objectives set by the WFD and by local regulations must be achieved by applying appropriate discharge limit values. Water quality for irrigation use and the impact of the tannery district is critically presented and discussed according to available data, and refers to the monitoring project which was developed as a result.

Practical implications

The inflow from an irrigation channel, which conducts freshwater from the Adige river to the Fratta‐Gorzone river and empties just beyond the discharge point for effluent from the tannery district, favoured a general improvement in river water quality, as a result of dilution, particularly for irrigation purposes.

Originality/value

An environmental management system is outlined, with a proposal for a specific set of indices to be used as part of the monitoring and control activities for the integrated management of river basins, especially those affected by industrial tannery discharges.
Factors reflecting bids in procurement of bus transports
Authors: Lidestam Helene
Published: May 2013

Purpose

To facilitate the choice of the winning bid in the public procurement of bus transports in Sweden and to make sure that the winning bid has the qualities that are requested, the placed demands are very detailed. On the other hand, the detailed demands will lead to limitations and could force the operator to use less environmentally friendly alternatives. The purpose of this paper is to identify factors regarding the buses and their properties that are commonly used in the public procurement process and analyze their level of details.

Design/methodology/approach

The method is to collect and study foundations from the process of public procurement of bus transport for three years in Sweden.

Findings

The result shows the most common and relevant aspects regarding the buses and their properties that have been requested and taken into consideration when creating the final contracts. Most of the demands regarding the factors were also described in very great detail.

Research limitations/implications

The study is done with data from three years. The demands have only been classified on two levels: detailed and non‐detailed.

Practical implications

The results enlighten the amount of demands that are specified in the foundations for public procurement of bus transports. While these demands make the base for the contracts, they are important for the decision makers in public transports.

Originality/value

The paper shows a general overview of hard and soft demands regarding factors that have been expressed in the foundations for public procurement of bus transports for the previous three years.
An assessment of environmental awareness in an industrial city
Authors: Altaher Hossam
Published: May 2013

Purpose

The aim of this study was to evaluate the environmental awareness among students in middle and high schools in an industrial city (Yanbu, Saudi Arabia).

Design/methodology/approach

A survey was distributed to 279 students in three schools of the city. Both perception of different environment issues and attitude towards the environment were assessed. Different sources of information about the environment were searched. Comparison of the degree of environmental awareness according to age and gender was investigated.

Findings

Results indicated girls to be more knowledgeable than boys. The results also showed that TV and internet are the most important sources of information about the environment.

Practical implications

This study can be important in identifying the level of environmental awareness among students in an industrial city and the different factors that affect this awareness.

Originality/value

To the author's knowledge, research studies investigating the environmental awareness of school students in the industrial areas in the Middle East are very few.
A longitudinal study of HotMap web search
Authors: Hoeber Orland
Published: May 2013

Purpose

HotMap web search was designed to support exploratory search tasks by adding lightweight visual and interactive features to the commonly used list‐based representation of web search results. Although laboratory user studies are the most common method for empirically validating the utility of information visualization and information retrieval systems such as this, it is difficult to determine if such studies accurately reflect the tasks of real users. This paper aims to address these issues.

Design/methodology/approach

A longitudinal user evaluation was conducted in two phases over a ten‐week period to determine how this novel web search interface was being used and accepted in real‐world settings.

Findings

Although the interactive features were not used as extensively as expected, there is evidence that the participants did find them useful. Participants were able to refine their queries easily, although most did so manually. Those that used the interactive exploration features were able to effectively discover potentially relevant documents buried deep in the search results list. Subjective reactions regarding the usefulness and ease‐of‐use of the system were positive, and more than half of the participants continued to use the system even after the study ended.

Originality/value

As a result of conducting this longitudinal study, the author has gained a deeper understanding of how a particular visual and interactive web search interface is being used in the real world, as well as issues associated with resistance to change. These findings may provide guidance for the design, development, and study of next generation interfaces for online information retrieval.
Endothelin ETB receptors contribute to sex differences in blood pressure elevation in angiotensin II hypertensive rats on a high‐salt diet
Authors: Kittikulsuth Wararat , Looney Stephen W , Pollock David M
Published: May 2013

Female rats are more resistant to blood pressure increases induced by high salt (HS) intake or angiotensin (Ang) II infusion. Because endothelin ETB receptors on endothelial and epithelial cells mediate tonic vasodilation and sodium excretion, we hypothesized that ETB receptors limit the hypertensive response and renal injury induced by HS diet alone or with chronic AngII infusion (AngII/HS) in female compared with male rats.

A 4 week HS diet (4% NaCl) did not significantly change blood pressure (measured by telemetry) in either male or female Sprague‐Dawley rats. Administration of the ETB receptor antagonist A‐192621 (1, 3 and 10 mg/kg per day in food) during HS feeding caused a dose‐dependent increase in blood pressure in both sexes.

In AngII/HS rats, males had a larger increase in blood pressure than females. The increase in blood pressure produced by ETB receptor blockade in male AngII/HS rats was not significant. However, A‐192621 treatment resulted in a significant further increase in blood pressure in female AngII/HS rats. Male rats had consistently higher protein excretion rates before and during AngII/HS, but this was not significantly affected by ETB receptor blockade in either sex.

In conclusion, ETB receptors play a significantly greater beneficial role in protecting female compared with male rats against AngII‐induced hypertension and may contribute to the sex differences in AngII‐induced hypertension.
Delivering Flagship Projects in an Era of Regulatory Capitalism: State‐led Privatization and the London Olympics 2012
Authors: Raco Mike
Published: May 2013

Much of the urban studies literature on the London Olympics has focused on its social legacies and the top‐down nature of policy agendas. This article explores one element that has been less well covered — the contractual dynamics and delivery networks that have shaped infrastructure provision. Drawing on interviews and freedom of information requests, this article explores the mechanisms involved in the project's delivery and their implications for broader understandings of urban politics and policymaking. It assesses contemporary writings on regulatory capitalism, public–private networks and new contractual spaces to frame the empirical discussion. This article argues that the London Olympic model has been characterized by the prioritization of delivery over representative democracy. Democratic imperatives, such as those around sustainability and employment rights, have been institutionally re‐placed and converted into contractual requirements on firms. This form of state‐led privatization of the development process represents a new, and for some, potentially more effective mode of governance than those offered by traditional systems of regulation and management.
Thinking generations
Authors: White Jonathan
Published: May 2013

Often, and increasingly, social and political life is narrated using the concept of generation. This article looks at contemporary expressions of ‘generationalism’ in British public life. It identifies the salient themes which emerge, links these to the social and political contexts in which these ideas are produced, and examines the points where they are vulnerable to critique. Bridging science and normativity, the generational view offers a convenient master‐narrative for a variety of political orientations – yet one whose democratic credentials are doubtful.
Guanxi, social capital theory and beyond: toward a globalized social science
Authors: Qi Xiaoying
Published: May 2013

Western theoretical traditions can benefit from systematic engagement with non‐Western concepts: This is shown through an analysis of the Chinese concept guanxi. After considering the general nature of guanxi, including its possible association with corrupt practices and its particular cultural characteristics, the paper goes on to identify the elements of its general form which have universal representation. The possibility of conceiving guanxi as a variant form of social capital is explored. This shows the way in which both the expressive and instrumentalized forms of guanxi indicate otherwise neglected aspects of social and economic relationships not always recognized and addressed by analogous terms current in social theory but which are none the less important for its advancement.
Putting Bourdieu to work for class analysis: reflections on some recent contributions
Authors: Flemmen Magne
Published: May 2013

Recent developments in class analysis, particularly associated with so‐called ‘cultural class analysis’; have seen the works of Pierre Bourdieu take centre stage. Apart from the general influence of ‘habitus’ and ‘cultural capital’, some scholars have tried to reconstruct class analysis with concepts drawn from Bourdieu. This involves a theoretical reorientation, away from the conventional concerns of class analysis with property and market relations, towards an emphasis on the multiple forms of capital. Despite the significant potential of these developments, such a reorientation dismisses or neglects the relations of power and domination founded in the economic institutions of capitalism as a crucial element of what class is. Through a critique of some recent attempts by British authors to develop a ‘Bourdieusian’ class theory, the paper reasserts the centrality of the relations of power and domination that used to be the domain of class analysis. The paper suggests some elements central to a reworked class analysis that benefits from the power of Bourdieu's ideas while retaining a perspective on the fundamentals of class relations in capitalism.