bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Philosophical Implications of Shintō
Authors: Iwasawa Tomoko
Published: July 2015

This chapter attempts to elucidate Shinto’s primal worldview as its concept first emerged in the eighth century. An important fact of that time was that two texts were officially compiled to record the ancient myths of Japan: the Kojiki and the Nihon shoki. Completed under the auspices of Emperor Tenmu, these two texts laid the foundation of Shinto as a state cult, providing its worldview through mythic narratives, some of which were later developed into important Shinto beliefs and rituals. By way of examining these primal texts, we will clarify how Shinto propounds the relationships among the divine, the human, and the world—the Japanese cosmogony that makes a remarkable contrast to that of Western theism.
Narrativizing Empire in the Biblical World
Authors: Jennings Theodore W. , Liew Tat-siong Benny
Published: July 2015

The chapter will highlight the deep ambivalence toward empire to be found within biblical narratives. Through a sampling of different kinds of narrative materials—in terms of major literary corpora (such as the Torah and epistles) and minor narrative forms (such as hymns and parables)—from both the Hebrew Bible and the New Testament, it will argue that empire in biblical narratives may be summarized as a tale of two kinds of empire: one of unjust oppression and one of refuge, justice, and mercy. The chapter ends by suggesting how this biblical tale of ambivalence about empire is still relevant for contemporary thought about our world today
History, Epidemic Evolution, and Model Burn-In for a Network of Annual Invasion: Soybean Rust
Authors: Sanatkar M. R. , Scoglio C. , Natarajan B. , Isard S. A. , Garrett K. A.
Published: July 2015

Ecological history may be an important driver of epidemics and disease emergence. We evaluated the role of history and two related concepts, the evolution of epidemics and the burn-in period required for fitting a model to epidemic observations, for the U.S. soybean rust epidemic (caused by Phakopsora pachyrhizi). This disease allows evaluation of replicate epidemics because the pathogen reinvades the United States each year. We used a new maximum likelihood estimation approach for fitting the network model based on observed U.S. epidemics. We evaluated the model burn-in period by comparing model fit based on each combination of other years of observation. When the miss error rates were weighted by 0.9 and false alarm error rates by 0.1, the mean error rate did decline, for most years, as more years were used to construct models. Models based on observations in years closer in time to the season being estimated gave lower miss error rates for later epidemic years. The weighted mean error rate was lower in backcasting than in forecasting, reflecting how the epidemic had evolved. Ongoing epidemic evolution, and potential model failure, can occur because of changes in climate, host resistance and spatial patterns, or pathogen evolution.
Off-Pump Minimally Invasive Coronary Artery Bypass Grafting with a Heart Positioner Direct Retraction for a Better Exposure
Authors: Kikuchi Keita , Une Dai , Suzuki Koutaro , Endo Yoshiki , Matsuyama Takayoshi , Osaka Shin-ichi , Kurata Atsushi
Published: July 2015

Objective

Lateral and inferior territories are difficult to expose during off-pump minimally invasive coronary artery bypass grafting (MICS CABG). The use of cardiopulmonary bypass is required at times. We initiated a direct retraction method by using a cardiac positioner for a better exposure, in order to complete off-pump, multivessel MICS CABG safely.

Methods

We recently initiated multivessel MICS CABG, performed via a 6- to 9-cm left thoracotomy. For distal anastomoses, the lateral pericardial edge was pulled to the chest wall to optimize exposure of the lateral and inferior area. Next, a single- or multisuction cardiac positioner was put on the sides of the target vessel through the small thoracotomy and pulled directly toward the incision. Finally, a distal anastomosis was made with an epicardial stabilizer via the thoracotomy, as in standard off-pump CABG.

Results

There was no mortality or conversion to sternotomy. A total of 10 cases were targeted for off-pump multivessel MICS CABG with this approach. Nine were completed, while 1 still required pump assist. The average number of distal anastomoses was 2.8 ± 0.8. Two were successful off-pump quadruple bypass grafting with sequential anastomoses. All patients were discharged and remain well to this day.

Conclusions

Most multivessel MICS CABG was feasible without pump assist even at the initiation period. This approach is easy and helpful in providing good exposure of target vessels without requirement of additional incisions.
Effects of Simvastatin and Combination of Simvastatin and Nylestriol on Bone Metabolism in Ovariectomized Rats
Authors: Li Xiao-Feng , Lin Chun-Bo , Xie Fu-Rong , Liang Wei-Guo , Ji Jing , Yang Yuan
Published: July 2015

We aim to compare the effects of simvastatin and combination of simvastatin and nylestriol on bone metabolism in ovariectomized (OVX) rats. Fifty healthy Wistar female rats were randomly allocated into 5 groups: sham + saline group (group A), OVX + saline group (group B), OVX + simvastatin (5 mg·kg−1·d−1) (group C), OVX + nylestriol (0.01 mg·kg−1·d−1) (group D), and OVX + simvastatin (3 mg·kg−1·d−1) + nylestriol (0.005 mg·kg−1·d−1) (group E). All mice were orally administrated with saline or medicine dissolved in saline for 10 weeks. Body weight of rats before and after the experiment was measured. Twenty-four hours after the experiment, calcium (Ca), creatinine (Cr), and hydroxyproline in urine were detected. Serum levels of osteocalcin (bone Gla-protein, BGP) and alkaline phosphatase (ALP) were measured. Bone mineral density was detected and trabecular bone was observed after the isolation of femur and tibia. Remarkably decreased serum BGP and increased serum ALP levels were detected in group B compared with those in group A. However, notably increased serum BGP and decreased serum ALP levels were found in groups C, D, and E compared with those in group B; femoral and tibial bone mineral density decreased in group B compared with that in group A, but increased in groups C, D, and E compared with that in group B. Simvastatin and combination of simvastatin and nylestriol promote formation of new bone, increase bone density, and improve bone microstructure damage in OVX rats.
Species and temperature measurements of methane oxidation in a nanosecond repetitively pulsed discharge
Authors: Lefkowitz Joseph K , Guo Peng , Rousso Aric , Ju Yiguang
Published: July 2015

Speciation and temperature measurements of methane oxidation during a nanosecond repetitively pulsed discharge in a low-temperature flow reactor have been performed. Measurements of temperature and formaldehyde during a burst of pulses were made on a time-dependent basis using tunable diode laser absorption spectroscopy, and measurements of all other major stable species were made downstream of a continuously pulsed discharge using gas chromatography. The major species for a stoichiometric methane/oxygen/helium mixture with 75% dilution are H
2
O, CO, CO
2
, H
2
, CH
2
O, CH
3
OH, C
2
H
6
, C
2
H
4
and C
2
H
2
. A modelling tool to simulate homogeneous plasma combustion kinetics is assembled by combining the ZDPlasKin and CHEMKIN codes. In addition, a kinetic model for plasma-assisted combustion (HP-Mech/plasma) of methane, oxygen and helium mixtures has been assembled to simulate the measurements. Predictions can accurately capture reactant consumption as well as production of the major product species. However, significant disagreement is found for minor species, particularly CH
2
O and CH
3
OH. Further analysis revealed that the plasma-activated low-temperature oxidation pathways, particularly those involving CH
3
O
2
radical reactions and methane reactions with O(
1
D), are responsible for this disagreement.
Physics and chemistry of the influence of excited molecules on combustion enhancement
Authors: Starik A. M. , Loukhovitski B. I. , Sharipov A. S. , Titova N. S
Published: July 2015

The paper addresses detailed analysis of kinetic processes in the H
2
−O
2
, CO−O
2
and CH
4
−O
2
-reactive systems upon the presence of singlet oxygen molecules O
2
(
a
1
Δ
g
) and

and the influence of the activation of oxygen molecules in electric discharge on the acceleration of ignition in the H
2
−O
2
and CH
4
−O
2
mixtures. The possibility of the intensification of CO oxidation due to excitation of O
2
and N
2
molecule vibrations and generation of singlet oxygen molecules is also considered. It is shown that the effect of accelerating the ignition strongly depends on the reduced electric field and, as a consequence, on the composition of discharge plasma as well as on the features of chain mechanism development in oxy-fuel systems. It is revealed that the most effective approach for the intensification of CO oxidation both in the moist air and in the products of hydrocarbon combustion in air is the generation of O
2
(
a
1
Δ
g
) molecules by electric discharge. Computations showed that the presence of 1% O
2
(
a
1
Δ
g
) in the total oxygen allowed one to convert CO to CO
2
even at the temperature
T
=850–900 K in the time of 10
−2
 s. The excitation of O
2
and N
2
molecule vibrations is less effective for such a conversion.
The distribution and impact of common copy-number variation in the genome of the domesticated apple,MalusxdomesticaBorkh
Authors: Boocock James , Chagné David , Merriman Tony R , Black Michael A
Published: July 2015

Background

Copy number variation (CNV) is a common feature of eukaryotic genomes, and a growing body of evidence suggests that genes affected by CNV are enriched in processes that are associated with environmental responses. Here we use next generation sequence (NGS) data to detect copy-number variable regions (CNVRs) within theMalusxdomesticagenome, as well as to examine their distribution and impact.

Methods

CNVRs were detected using NGS data derived from 30 accessions ofM. xdomesticaanalyzed using the read-depth method, as implemented in the CNVrd2 software. To improve the reliability of our results, we developed a quality control and analysis procedure that involved checking for organelle DNA, not repeat masking, and the determination of CNVR identity using a permutation testing procedure.

Results

Overall, we identified 876 CNVRs, which spanned 3.5% of the apple genome. To verify that detected CNVRs were not artifacts, we analyzed the B-allele-frequencies (BAF) within a single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) array dataset derived from a screening of 185 individual apple accessions and found the CNVRs were enriched for SNPs having aberrant BAFs (P < 1e-13, Fisher’s Exact test). Putative CNVRs overlapped 845 gene models and were enriched for resistance (R) gene models (P < 1e-22, Fisher’s exact test). Of note was a cluster of resistance gene models on chromosome 2 near a region containing multiple major gene loci conferring resistance to apple scab.

Conclusion

We present the first analysis and catalogue of CNVRs in theM. xdomestica genome. The enrichment of the CNVRs with R gene models and their overlap with gene loci of agricultural significance draw attention to a form of unexplored genetic variation in apple. This research will underpin further investigation of the role that CNV plays within the apple genome.
Accelerating Protein Structure Prediction using Particle Swarm Optimization on GPU
Authors: Khakzad Hamed , Karami Yasaman , Arab Seyed Shahriar
Published: July 2015

Protein tertiary structure prediction (PSP) is one of the most challenging problems in bioinformatics. Different methods have been introduced to solve this problem so far, but PSP is computationally intensive and belongs to the NP-hard class. One of the best solutions to accelerate PSP is the use of a massively parallel processing architecture, such graphical processing unit (GPU), which is used to parallelize computational algorithms. In this paper, we have proposed a parallel architecture to accelerate PSP. A bio-inspired method, particle swarm optimization (PSO) has been used as the optimization method to solve PSP. We have also performed a comprehensive study on implementing different topologies of PSO on GPU to consider the acceleration rate. Our solution belongs to ab-initio category which is based on the dihedral angles and calculates the energy-levels to predict the tertiary structure. Indeed, we have studied the search space of a protein to find the best pair of angles that gives the minimum free energy. A profile-level knowledge-based force field based on PSI-BLAST multiple sequence alignment has been applied as a fitness function to calculate the energy values. Different topologies and variations of PSO are considered here and the experimental results show that the speedup gain using GPU is about 34 times faster than CPU implementation of the algorithm with an acceptable precision. The energy values of predicted structures confirm the robustness of the algorithm.
Diagnostic Assessment of Osteosarcoma Chemoresistance Based on Virtual Clinical Trials
Authors: Rejniak K.A. , Lloyd M.C. , Reed D.R. , Bui M.M.
Published: July 2015

Osteosarcoma is the most common primary bone tumor in pediatric and young adult patients. Successful treatment of osteosarcomas requires a combination of surgical resection and systemic chemotherapy, both neoadjuvant (prior to surgery) and adjuvant (after surgery). The degree of necrosis following neoadjuvant chemotherapy correlates with the subsequent probability of disease-free survival. Tumors with less than 10% of viable cells after treatment represent patients with a more favorable prognosis. However, being able to predict early, such as at the time of the pre-treatment tumor biopsy, how the patient will respond to the standard chemotherapy would provide an opportunity for more personalized patient care. Patients with unfavorable predictions could be studied in a protocol, rather than a standard setting, towards improving therapeutic success. The onset of necrotic cells in osteosarcomas treated with chemotherapeutic agents is a measure of tumor sensitivity to the drugs. We hypothesize that the remaining viable cells, i.e., cells that have not responded to the treatment, are chemoresistant, and that the pathological characteristics of these chemoresistant tumor cells within the osteosarcoma pre-treatment biopsy can predict tumor response to the standard-of-care chemotherapeutic treatment. This hypothesis can be tested by comparing patient histopathology samples before, as well as after treatment to identify both morphological and immunochemical cellular features that are characteristic of chemoresistant cells, i.e., cells that survived treatment. Consequently, using computational simulations of dynamic changes in tumor pathology under the simulated standard of care chemotherapeutic treatment, one can couple the pre- and post-treatment morphological and spatial patterns of chemoresistant cells, and correlate them with patient clinical diagnoses. This procedure, that we named ‘Virtual Clinical Trials’, can serve as a potential predictive biomarker providing a novel value added decision support tool for oncologists.
Gibbs Free Energy of Protein-Protein Interactions reflects tumor stage
Authors: Rietman Edward A. , Bloemendal Alex , Platig John , Tuszynski Jack A. , Klement Giannoula Lakka
Published: July 2015

The sequential changes occurring with cancer progression are now being harnessed with therapeutic intent. Yet, there is no understanding of the chemical thermodynamics of proteomic changes associated with cancer progression/cancer stage. This manuscript reveals a strong correlation of a chemical thermodynamic measure (known as Gibbs free energy) of protein-protein interaction networks for several cancer types and 5-year overall survival and stage in patients with cancer. Earlier studies have linked degree entropy of signaling networks to patient survival data, but not with stage. It appears that Gibbs free energy is a more general metric and accounts better for the underlying energetic landscape of protein expression in cells, thus correlating with stage as well as survival.

This is an especially timely finding because of improved ability to obtain and analyze genomic/proteomic information from individual patients. Yet, at least at present, only candidate gene imaging (FISH or immunohistochemistry) can be used for entropy computations. With continually expanding use of genomic information in clinical medicine, there is an ever-increasing need to understand the thermodynamics of protein-protein interaction networks.
Towards a microchannel-based X-ray detector with two-dimensional spatial and time resolution and high dynamic range
Authors: Adams Bernhard W. , Mane Anil U. , Elam Jeffrey W. , Obaid Razib , Wetstein Matthew , Chollet Matthieu
Published: July 2015

X-ray detectors that combine two-dimensional spatial resolution with a high time resolution are needed in numerous applications of synchrotron radiation. Most detectors with this combination of capabilities are based on semiconductor technology and are therefore limited in size. Furthermore, the time resolution is often realised through rapid time-gating of the acquisition, followed by a slower readout. Here, a detector technology is realised based on relatively inexpensive microchannel plates that uses GHz waveform sampling for a millimeter-scale spatial resolution and better than 100 ps time resolution. The technology is capable of continuous streaming of time- and location-tagged events at rates greater than 107events per cm2. Time-gating can be used for improved dynamic range.
Design of a mouse restraint for synchrotron-based computed tomography imaging
Authors: Gagnon Kenneth B. , Caine Sally , Samadi Nazanin , Martinson Mercedes , van der Loop Melanie , Alcorn Jane , Chapman L. Dean , Belev George , Nichol Helen
Published: July 2015

High-resolution computed tomography (CT) imaging of a live animal within a lead-lined synchrotron light hutch presents several unique challenges. In order to confirm that the animal is under a stable plane of anaesthesia, several physiological parameters (e.g.heart rate, arterial oxygen saturation, core body temperature and respiratory rate) must be remotely monitored from outside the imaging hutch. In addition, to properly scan the thoracic region using CT, the animal needs to be held in a vertical position perpendicular to the fixed angle of the X-ray beam and free to rotate 180°–360°. A new X-ray transparent mouse restraint designed and fabricated using computer-aided design software and three-dimensional rapid prototype printing has been successfully tested at the Biomedical Imaging and Therapy bending-magnet (BMIT-BM) beamline at the Canadian Light Source.
Structural and energy insights on solid-state complexes with trimethoprim: a combined theoretical and experimental investigation
Authors: Tilborg Anaelle , Carletta Andrea , Wouters Johan
Published: July 2015

We present here a new structure of a 1:1 salt of trimethoprim with hemifumarate, highlighted by single-crystal X-ray diffraction and computational conformational studies. This salt was formed during cocrystallization assays conducted to combine trimethoprim and other APIs whose combination exhibits interesting properties. Theoreticalin vacuoinvestigations have been performed on the organic salt through a DFT two-dimensional conformational scan of torsion angles between the two aromatic moieties of trimethoprim. The evaluation of relative energies for hydrogen-bond interactions in the structure has also been performed. Comparison with conformational data from structures implying trimethoprim retrieved from the Cambridge Structural Database (CSD) shows good agreement with theoretical results, proving the validity of vacuumab initiocalculations in describing the energetic landscape of the molecule and thereby gain initial insight into the prediction process for possible new conformations and therefore potential new polymorphs.
How does binding of imidazole-based inhibitors to heme oxygenase-1 influence their conformation? Insights combining crystal structures and molecular modelling
Authors: Carletta Andrea , Tilborg Anaëlle , Moineaux Laurence , de Ruyck Jérôme , Basile Livia , Salerno Loredana , Romeo Giuseppe , Wouters Johan , Guccione Salvatore
Published: July 2015

Heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1) inhibition is associated with antitumor activity. Imidazole-based analogues show effective and selective inhibitory potency of HO-1. In this work, five single-crystal structures of four imidazole-based compounds are presented, with an in-depth structural analysis. In order to study the influence of the conformation of the ligands on binding to protein, conformational data from crystallography are compared with quantum mechanics analysis and molecular docking studies. Molecular docking of imidazole-based analogues in the active site of HO-1 is in good agreement with the experimental structures. Inhibitors interact with the heme cofactor and a hydrophobic pocket (Met34, Phe37, Val50, Leu147 and Phe214) in the HO-1 binding site. An alternate binding mode can be hypothesized for some inhibitors in the series.
From a binary salt to salt co-crystals of antibacterial agent lomefloxacin with improved solubility and bioavailability
Authors: Zhang Zhi-Hui , Zhang Qi , Zhang Qing-Qing , Chen Chen , He Ming-Yang , Chen Qun , Song Guo-Qiang , Xuan Xiao-Peng , Huang Xian-Feng
Published: July 2015

The cocrystallization of lomefloxacin (Lf) with barbituric acid (HBA) and/or isophthalic acid (H2ip) leads to novel binary and ternary saltsviahydrogen-bonding recognition. X-ray single-crystal diffraction analyses show that zwitterionic lomefloxacin can adjust itself to fulfill a different supramolecular array in either binary salts or ternary salt co-crystals, formulated as [HLf]·[Hip]·H2O (1), [HLf]·[BA]·[HBA]·H2O (2) and [HLf]·[BA]·[H2ip]·CH3OH·H2O (3). These pharmaceutical agents present uniform charge-assisted hydrogen-bonding networks between HLf cations and acidic coformers with the lattice capturing water molecules. Structural comparison of (2) and (3) indicated that a delicate balance of geometries and hydrogen-bonding partners is required for stacking to favor the formation of ternary salt co-crystals. Cocrystallization was able to overcome the water insolubility of lomefloxacin. Both the salt co-crystals display enhanced solubility and better pharmaceutical applicability.
Monoreduced 1,2-dihydrocorannuleneversusthe parent corannulene
Authors: Spisak Sarah N. , Hoover Gabrielle C. , Wei Zheng , Zabula Alexander V. , Filatov Alexander S. , Petrukhina Marina A.
Published: July 2015

The monoanion of dihydrogenated corannulene isolated in the form of its potassium salt, namely tris(diglyme-κ3O,O′,O′′)potassium hexacyclo[11.5.2.04,17.07,16.010,15.014,18]icosa-1,3,5,7(16),8,10(15),11,13,17-nonaenide, [K(C6H14O3)3](C20H12), has been structurally characterized for the first time. The X-ray study confirms the previous NMR spectroscopic prediction that the two H atoms are attached to the same six-membered ring to form 1,2-dihydrocorannulene, thus destroying the aromaticity of only one arene ring of the corannulene core. The direct comparison of (C20H12)−with the parent corannulene anion, (C20H10)−, is provided to illustrate the geometry perturbations caused by rim hydrogenation.
Crystal structures and conformational analyses of three pyranochromene derivatives
Authors: Swaminathan K. , Sethusankar K. , Kumar G. Siva , Bakthadoss M.
Published: July 2015

The title compounds, C27H20O6, (I) [systematic name: methyl 7-oxo-14-phenyl-1H,7H,14H-pyrano[3,2-c:5,4-c′]dichromene-14a(6bH)-carboxylate], C24H22O5, (II) [systematic name: methyl 1-oxo-6-phenyl-2,3,4,12b-tetrahydro-1H,6H-chromeno[3,4-c]chromene-6a(7H)-carboxylate], and C25H23N3O4, (III) [systematic name: 6-(4-ethylphenyl)-2,4-dimethyl-1,3-dioxo-2,3,4,12b-tetrahydro-1H,6H-chromeno[4′,3′:4,5]pyrano[2,3-d]pyrimidine-6a(7H)-carbonitrile], are pyranochromene derivatives. The central pyran rings (B) of compounds (I) and (III) adopt half-chair conformations, whereas that of compound (II) adopts a sofa conformation. The pyran rings (A) of the chromene ring systems of compounds (II) and (III) adopt half-chair conformations, while that of compound (I) adopts a sofa conformation. The mean plane of the central pyran rings (B) make dihedral angles of 70.02 (6), 61.52 (6) and 69.12 (7)°, respectively, with the mean planes of the chromene moieties (C+A) of compounds (I), (II) and (III). The bicyclic coumarin ring system (C+A+B+E) in compound (I) is almost planar (r.m.s. deviation = 0.042 Å). The carbonitrile side chain in compound (III) is very nearly linear, with the C—C[triple-bond]N angle being 176.6 (2)°. The cyclohexene ring (E), fused with the central pyran ring (B) in compound (II) adopts a sofa conformation. In the molecular structures of compounds (II) and (III), there are C—H...O short contacts, which generateS(7) ring motifs. In the crystal structures of the title compounds, molecules are linked by C—H...O hydrogen bonds, which generate molecular sheets parallel to theabplane, withR43(28) loops in (I), inversion dimers withR22(10) loops in (II) and chains along [010] withR22(12) ring motifs in (III). In the crystal structures of (I) and (III), there are also C—H...π interactions present, leading to the formation of a three-dimensional framework in (II) and to sheets parallel to (101) in (III).
Crystal structure of 2-[bis(1H-pyrazol-1-yl)methyl]pyridine
Authors: Son Kyung-sun , Park Jong-Eun , Kim Daeyoung , Kang Sung Kwon
Published: July 2015

The title compound, C12H11N5, was synthesized as a potential tridentate ligand to make catalytic metal complexes. The dihedral angle between the pyrazolyl rings is 67.9 (1)°. The most prominent feature in the crystal packing are C—H...N hydrogen-bonding interactions that link the molecules into a supramolecular tape along theb-axis direction.
Crystal structure of 4-(dimethylamino)pyridiniumcis-diaquabis(oxalato-κ2O,O′)ferrate(III) hemihydrate
Authors: Djomo Edith Dimitri , Capet Frédéric , Nenwa Justin , Bélombé Michel M. , Foulon Michel
Published: July 2015

The FeIIIions in the hybrid title salt, (C7H11N2)[Fe(C2O4)2(H2O)2]·0.5H2O, show a distorted octahedral coordination environment, with four O atoms from two chelating oxalate dianions and two O atoms from twocisaqua ligands. The average Fe—O(oxalate) bond length [2.00 (2) Å] is shorter than the average Fe—O(water) bond length [2.027 (19) Å]. The ionic components are connectedviaintermolecular N—H...O and O—H...O hydrogen bonds into a three-dimensional network.
Crystal structure of 2,3-dimethoxy-5,6,7,8,13,13a-hexahydro-6a,8-diazaindeno[2,1-b]phenanthrene methanol monosolvate
Authors: Adizov Shahobiddin M. , Saidov Abdusalom Sh. , Turgunov Kambarali K. , Okmanov Rasul Ya. , Tashkhodjaev Bakhodir
Published: July 2015

The asymmetric unit of the title solvate, C21H22N2O2·CH3OH, contains one methanol solvent molecule and one molecule of the heterocycle that is built up by the fusion of four six-membered ringsA,C,D,Eand one five-membered ringB. The indole moiety (ringsAandB) is essentially planar, with an r.m.s. deviation of 0.013 Å, whereas ringsCandDadopt a twisted conformation with atrans-ring junction. In the crystal, two heterocyclic molecules are associated with two methanol molecules through mutual N—H...O and O—H...N hydrogen bonds, forming a centrosymmetric dimer.
Islamic Cross Currency Swap (ICCS): hedging against currency fluctuations
Authors: Rahman Aisyah Abdul , Md Ramli Raudha
Published: July 2015

Subject area

The case is suitable for use in the topics related to the functions and roles of hedging and the Islamic derivatives/hedging instruments.

Study level/applicability

The case is designed for undergraduate students, taking courses in Islamic Banking, Islamic Finance and Risk Management for Islamic Banking Institutions.

Case overview

This case describes the theory and application of Islamic Cross Currency Swap (ICCS) in the market. Having this understanding enables case analysts to understand the functions and roles of hedging and the Islamic derivatives or hedging instruments of ICCS comprehensively. The case begins with Yusof, the new finance officer of Al-Yemeni Sdn. Bhd to analyse the permissibility of hedging and derivatives to hedge against currency fluctuations from Islamic perspective. Yusof had to complete the report before the Board of Director's quarterly meeting, which was within a week. Having in mind that the company's mission was to be a Shariah-compliant stock by 2012, Yusof was responsible for ensuring that the company was administrated in an Islamic way. Besides, he also had to ensure that the company generated income and profit as planned. In doing so, he had to strategise all possible risk exposures that could be mitigated or hedged. This case ends by giving the case analyst information on ICCS offered by Al-Rizky Bank Berhad (ARBB). In this case, Yusof had to find out whether hedging is allowed in Islam. What are the Islamic derivatives? What are the different views of Shariah scholars on various types of derivatives? What is the modus operandi of ICCS? Is the ICCS offered by ARBB Shariah compliant? What are the possible risk exposures being hedged in ICCS?

Expected learning outcomes

To provide exposure on the concepts of hedging from Islamic perspectives; to provide exposure on the concepts of Islamic derivatives/Islamic hedging instruments; to stimulate understanding on the modus operandi of ICCS in ARBB; and to help case analysts understand what makes the Islamic hedging instruments become Shariah compliant.

Supplementary materials

Teaching notes are available for educators only. Please contact your library to gain login details or email support@emeraldinsight.com to request teaching notes.
Virtual currency schemes – the future of financial services
Authors: Mikołajewicz-Woźniak Alicja , Scheibe Anna
Published: July 2015

Purpose

– The purpose of the paper is to determine the future role of virtual currencies. This paper indicates their pros and cons as alternatives to “real” money and explains their appearance as the reflection of the present trends. It also presents the possible scenarios of their development.

Design/methodology/approach

– The paper is based on the former foresight research results and literature review. It highlights the main trends in contemporary economy and their impact on financial services. The Bitcoin case is the starting point for the virtual currencies’ market analysis and construction of possible market changes scenarios.

Findings

– Virtual currency schemes are the reflection of present trends. They are just ahead of our times but may become a common means of payment, changing the way of providing financial services, eliminating intermediaries and marginalizing the role of financial institutions.

Research limitations/implications

– The multiplicity of virtual currencies and ceaseless introduction of innovations impede the presentation of the complete market picture. The lack of reliable statistical data makes the estimation of the market growth difficult.

Practical implications

– This paper indicates influence of technology development, virtualization and networking on payment systems’ functioning.

Social implications

– This paper shows the impact of environmental changes on consumers’ acceptance of virtual currencies.

Originality/value

– The virtual currency as a payment system is quite new and still a marginalized phenomenon. Nevertheless, the pace of virtual currency market growth after its recent introduction and appearance of Bitcoin successors seems to be the signs of future changes in financial service sector.
Designing for public sector innovation in the UK: design strategies for paradigm shifts
Authors: Sangiorgi Daniela
Published: July 2015

Purpose

– The aim of this work is to provide an initial picture of how some design agencies are contributing toward a paradigm shift and how they are developing in the future to better inform design policies and interdisciplinary work. There is a general agreement that the current government and public sector structure and modes of operation need radical transformation. In this scenario, a shift from New Public Management towards New Public Governance paradigm has been auspicated. Design has attracted attention as a potential approach to support this transformation, but research into Service Design, as well as discussions on its future development, for public sector innovation is limited. This paper is an exploratory study into the individual work of seven representative UK design agencies operating for and within the public sector.

Design/methodology/approach

– The paper reviews literature on public sector reform and innovation to inform comparative studies of contemporary design agencies working for public sector reform. Interviews with seven designers from NHS Institute for Innovation and Improvement, Participle, Innovation Unit, Uscreates, Collaborative Change, Futuregov and Snook are conducted to review their perceived role for public sector reform, their design approaches, exemplar projects and main challenges.

Findings

– Emerging design strategies for Public Sector reform are: a collaborative design approach that considers all stakeholders as equal co-creators of public value; operating at different complementary levels to aim at systemic change; designing from the inside out (innovation culture) and outside in (market change). These different strategies imply the development of possible different business models. Existing creative tensions appear between embedding and outsourcing strategies, acting as facilitators vs designers, developing both designing and service delivery roles.

Research limitations/implications

– This paper is based on a limited sample of design agencies, and it is not a systematic study into the impact of their design work, which should be the object of a following study.

Practical implications

– This paper brings Service Design practice into public sector innovation debate to inform future interdisciplinary research and innovation policies. It positions existing design innovation strategies within the wider picture of public sector reform to support a more informed design practice.

Originality/value

– Few studies have looked at the UK design agencies for public sector innovation and discussed their possible future developments. This paper provides an original and holistic description of design for public sector innovation with considerations on how it should be interpreted when developing supporting innovation and design policies.
Sharing resources of Russian libraries: 10 years of consortia services development
Authors: Plemnek Alexander , Sokolova Natalia
Published: July 2015

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate the current situation and history of cooperation and resource sharing in Russian libraries. The resources and services provided cooperatively are described.

Design/methodology/approach

– A narrative combining description, surveys, analysis and evaluation.

Findings

– Fundamental changes have occurred in Russian libraries as a result of the development of consortia services development, particularly in resource sharing.

Research limitations/implications

– Digital libraries and databases subscriptions were not within the scope of this study.

Social implications

– The paper demonstrates the efforts of many libraries cooperatively producing services at a national level.

Originality/value

– One of the few articles to describe the current state of resource sharing and consortia development in Russia.
The digital article service at the State and University Library, Aarhus, Denmark
Authors: Haagensen Henrik
Published: July 2015

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to present a new service providing Danish citizens access to articles from printed journals delivered in a digital form.

Design/methodology/approach

– The paper describes the interlibrary loan infrastructure between Danish libraries and the legal agreement between the copyright holders and the State and University Library.

Findings

– The service already covers 82 per cent of the Danish population.

Originality/value

– The digital article service is a rather unique service, especially regarding the delivery of articles from popular printed magazines in digital form to the patrons.
The mediation effects of sticker shock
Authors: Zhuang Weiling , Alford Bruce
Published: July 2015

Purpose

– This study aims to extend prior studies by examining the mediation effects of sticker shock on the relationship between price discount and buying intention. Sticker shock refers to the discrepancy between a brand’s sale price (SP) and an individual’s internal reference price (IRP) (Winer 1985).

Design/methodology/approach

– Prior marketing research on sticker shock is primarily model-based. The authors employed a between-subject experimental design, and hypotheses were tested using a series of regression functions (Baron and Kenny 1986).

Findings

– The results suggest the effect of price discount on buying intention is partially mediated by sticker shock.

Practical implications

– The research results suggest that consumers take into account price messages from different sources, such as advertised reference price, SP and IRP. IRP is a key reference point that consumers use to develop the “gain” or “loss” perception. Firms may apply different strategies to influence consumers’ internal reference point and, in turn, influence the perception of the attractiveness of the sale product.

Originality/value

– This study contributes to the literature by first testing the mediation effects of sticker shock on the relationship between price discount and buying intention.
Chinese young consumers’ brand loyalty toward sportswear products: a perspective of self-congruity
Authors: Lu Jinzhao , Xu Yingjiao
Published: July 2015

Purpose

– This study aims to investigate Chinese young consumers’ brand loyalty toward sportswear products from a self-congruity perspective. With different performance observed between global and domestic sportswear brands in the Chinese market, this study also aims to examine the impact of country of origin on Chinese young consumers’ behavior toward sportswear brands.

Design/methodology/approach

– A survey with street intercept method was conducted in Shanghai to collect data for this study. Multiple independent t-tests and structural equation modeling (SEM) with bootstrap method were used to test the hypotheses.

Findings

– The SEM results indicate a significant influence of brand self-congruity on consumers’ brand association and perceived quality, which, in turn, influenced consumers’ brand loyalty. The multiple t-test results suggest a significant difference between Chinese and global sportswear brands in terms of consumers’ brand association and attitudinal brand loyalty. No significant difference was found in terms of consumers’ behavioral brand loyalty.

Research limitations/implications

– The main limitation of this study comes from the convenience student sample.

Practical implications

– First, brands need to strategically design the brand image to represent the largest segment of the target market. Second, while global brands could focus on their pricing strategies, domestic brands need to focus more on maintaining a positive brand association in consumers’ mind.

Originality/value

– This study contributes to the growing research on the self-congruity perspective of brand loyalty by empirically confirming the indirect effect of brand self-congruity on brand loyalty via the mediation effects of brand association and perceived quality in the context of the ever-growing Chinese sportswear market.
Product involvement, price perceptions, and brand loyalty
Authors: Ferreira Alcina G. , Coelho Filipe J.
Published: July 2015

Purpose

– This paper aims to contribute to the literature on brand loyalty by illustrating the mechanisms through which product involvement influences brand loyalty. In doing so, the study is original in considering the mediating role of the multidimensional price perceptions’ construct.

Design/methodology/approach

– Two thousand questionnaires were distributed in two shopping malls, yielding a sample of 535 consumers, covering eight different grocery products. To test the hypothesized model, the authors relied on structural equation modelling.

Findings

– Product involvement influences on brand loyalty are partially mediated by price perceptions. This is a novel finding. Moreover, product involvement relates positively to six price perceptions, and this is also original. As expected, value consciousness and sale proneness are detrimental to brand loyalty, whereas price – quality schema contributes to it. Unexpectedly, however, price consciousness, sale proneness and price mavenism are positively related to loyalty.

Practical implications

– Managers can improve brand loyalty by increasing consumers’ product involvement, by reducing the reliance on a value-for-money orientation and on non-coupon promotions and by focusing on lower or higher prices and on coupon promotions and emphasizing a price – quality association.

Originality/value

– The product involvement/brand loyalty relationship has been characterized by mixed findings. This paper contributes to this debate by clarifying the mechanisms through which involvement relates to loyalty. In doing this, this paper also innovates by investigating the relationship between involvement and the multidimensional price perceptions’ construct. In this process, this paper also inquires how seven price perceptions relate to brand loyalty, with novel findings emerging.
The Nobel Prize: the identity of a corporate heritage brand
Authors: Urde Mats , Greyser Stephen A
Published: July 2015

Purpose

– The purpose of this study is to understand the identity of the Nobel Prize as a corporate heritage brand and its management challenges.

Design/methodology/approach

– An in-depth case study analysed within a heritage brand model and a corporate brand identity framework.

Findings

– The Nobel Prize is a corporate heritage brand – one whose value proposition is based on heritage – in this case “achievements for the benefit of mankind” (derived directly from Alfred Nobel’s will). It is also defined as a “networked brand”, one where four independent collaborating organisations around the (Nobel) hub create and sustain the Nobel Prize’s identity and reputation, acting as a “federated republic”.

Research limitations/implications

– The new and combined application of the Heritage Quotient framework and the Corporate Brand Identity Matrix in the Heritage Brand Identity Process (HBIP) offers a structured approach to integrate the identity of a corporate heritage brand. In a networked situation, understanding the role of stewardship in collaborating organisations is essential: The network entities maintain their own identities and goals, but share common values of the network hub.

Practical implications

– The integrated frameworks (HBIP) provides a platform for managing a corporate heritage brand.

Originality/value

– This is the first field-based study of the Nobel Prize from a strategic brand management perspective.
Understanding social enterprise country models: Spain
Authors: Fisac Ramon , Moreno-Romero Ana
Published: July 2015

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to describe the historical institutional context of Spain in the past 40 years and to analyze the influence of institutional factors in the current model of social enterprise existing in the country.

Design/methodology/approach

– This study draws on the theory of historical institutionalism, national-level empirical data and Kerlin conceptual framework (2013) that informs models of social enterprise.

Findings

– This paper describe some traits of Spain’s social enterprise that can be explained by the evolution of its institutional context in the past 40 years. It helps to validate, from a historical institutionalistic perspective, aspects of the Kerlin framework for social enterprise models. It also begins to show that the analysis of regional differences in the context should be taken into consideration when examining a country’s social enterprise space.

Research limitations/implications

– This discussion paper encourages academics to analyze regional differences in the emergence of social enterprise within a country. The main limitation of the paper is the lack of an “official” definition of social enterprise in Spain.

Originality/value

– This paper applies a valuable framework to a country with a unique political and economic history in the past 40 years. It contributes to enrich the research on the emergence and development of social enterprises in a variety of contexts and advances understanding of how regional differences inside a country influence the development of social enterprises.
Nitrogenous compounds stimulate glucose‐derived acid production by oral Streptococcus and Actinomyces
Authors: Norimatsu Yuka , Kawashima Junko , Takano‐Yamamoto Teruko , Takahashi Nobuhiro
Published: July 2015

Both Streptococcus and Actinomyces can produce acids from dietary sugars and are frequently found in caries lesions. In the oral cavity, nitrogenous compounds, such as peptides and amino acids, are provided continuously by saliva and crevicular gingival fluid. Given that these bacteria can also utilize nitrogen compounds for their growth, it was hypothesized that nitrogenous compounds may influence their acid production; however, no previous studies have examined this topic. Therefore, the present study aimed to assess the effects of nitrogenous compounds (tryptone and glutamate) on glucose‐derived acid production by Streptococcus and Actinomyces. Acid production was evaluated using a pH‐stat method under anaerobic conditions, whereas the amounts of metabolic end‐products were quantified using high performance liquid chromatography. Tryptone enhanced glucose‐derived acid production by up to 2.68‐fold, whereas glutamate enhanced Streptococcus species only. However, neither tryptone nor glutamate altered the end‐product profiles, indicating that the nitrogenous compounds stimulate the whole metabolic pathways involving in acid production from glucose, but are not actively metabolized, nor do they alter metabolic pathways. These results suggest that nitrogenous compounds in the oral cavity promote acid production by Streptococcus and Actinomyces in vivo.