bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
History and contemporary significance of the Rhynie cherts—our earliest preserved terrestrial ecosystem
Authors: Edwards Dianne , Kenrick Paul , Dolan Liam
Published: December 2017

The Rhynie cherts Unit is a 407 million-year old geological site in Scotland that preserves the most ancient known land plant ecosystem, including associated animals, fungi, algae and bacteria. The quality of preservation is astonishing, and the initial description of several plants 100 years ago had a huge impact on botany. Subsequent discoveries provided unparalleled insights into early life on land. These include the earliest records of plant life cycles and fungal symbioses, the nature of soil microorganisms and the diversity of arthropods. Today the Rhynie chert (here including the Rhynie and Windyfield cherts) takes on new relevance, especially in relation to advances in the fields of developmental genetics and Earth systems science. New methods and analytical techniques also contribute to a better understanding of the environment and its organisms. Key discoveries are reviewed, focusing on the geology of the site, the organisms and the palaeoenvironments. The plants and their symbionts are of particular relevance to understanding the early evolution of the plant life cycle and the origins of fundamental organs and tissue systems. The Rhynie chert provides remarkable insights into the structure and interactions of early terrestrial communities, and it has a significant role to play in developing our understanding of their broader impact on Earth systems.

This article is part of a discussion meeting issue ‘The Rhynie cherts: our earliest terrestrial ecosystem revisited’.
Terrestrial invertebrates in the Rhynie chert ecosystem
Authors: Dunlop Jason A. , Garwood Russell J.
Published: December 2017

The Early Devonian Rhynie and Windyfield cherts remain a key locality for understanding early life and ecology on land. They host the oldest unequivocal nematode worm (Nematoda), which may also offer the earliest evidence for herbivory via plant parasitism. The trigonotarbids (Arachnida: Trigonotarbida) preserve the oldest book lungs and were probably predators that practiced liquid feeding. The oldest mites (Arachnida: Acariformes) are represented by taxa which include mycophages and predators on nematodes today. The earliest harvestman (Arachnida: Opiliones) includes the first preserved tracheae, and male and female genitalia. Myriapods are represented by a scutigeromorph centipede (Chilopoda: Scutigeromorpha), probably a cursorial predator on the substrate, and a putative millipede (Diplopoda). The oldest springtails (Hexapoda: Collembola) were probably mycophages, and another hexapod of uncertain affinities preserves a gut infill of phytodebris. The first true insects (Hexapoda: Insecta) are represented by a species known from chewing (non-carnivorous?) mandibles. Coprolites also provide insights into diet, and we challenge previous assumptions that several taxa were spore-feeders. Rhynie appears to preserve a largely intact community of terrestrial animals, although some expected groups are absent. The known fossils are (ecologically) consistent with at least part of the fauna found around modern Icelandic hot springs.

This article is part of a discussion meeting issue ‘The Rhynie cherts: our earliest terrestrial ecosystem revisited’.
Correction of the Framingham Risk Score Data Reported in SPRINT
Authors: Warner Frederick , Dhruva Sanket S. , Ross Joseph S. , Dey Pranammya , Murugiah Karthik , Krumholz Harlan M.
Published: December 2017

This report describes an error in the Framingham Risk Score data presented in the original SPRINT publication.1 The data, presented in Table 1 of the main SPRINT publication in the New England Journal of Medicine and made available to SPRINT Challenge participants, incorrectly calculated the level of baseline cardiovascular risk of the study participants using the Framingham Risk Score. The correct calculation increased the number of participants identified as having >15% 10-year risk from 5737 to 7089, a change from 61% to 76% of the total study population. This information is important for researchers attempting to validate and extend the trial’s findings and is particularly germane because the recently released American Heart Association/American College of Cardiology blood pressure guidelines changed blood pressure targets for pharmacologic therapy only for high-risk individuals.
Characterisation and modelling of a polyhydroxyalkanoate synthase fromAquitaleasp. USM4 reveals a mechanism for polymer elongation
Authors: Teh Aik-Hong , Chiam Nyet-Cheng , Furusawa Go , Sudesh Kumar
Published: December 2017

Polyhydroxyalkanoate synthase, PhaC, is a key enzyme in the biosynthesis of PHA, a type of bioplastics with huge potential to replace conventional petroleum-based plastics. While two PhaC structures have been determined recently, the exact mechanism remains unclear partly due to the absence of a tunnel for product passage. The PhaC fromAquitaleasp. USM4, PhaCAq, was characterised and showed aKmof 394 µM and akcatof 476.4 s−1on the 3HB-CoA substrate. A model based on the structure of the closely related PhaC fromCupriavidus necator, PhaCCnrevealed a three-branched tunnel at the dimeric interface. Two of the branches open to the solvent and serve as the putative routes for substrate entrance and product exit, while the third branch is elongated in a PhaC1 model fromPseudomonas aeruginosa, indicating a function of accommodating the hydroxyalkanoate (HA) moiety of the HA-CoA substrate. Docking of the two tetrahedral intermediates formed during catalysis suggests a PHA elongation mechanism that requires the HA moiety of the ligand to rotate ~180°. Both classes I and II PhaCs share a common mechanism for polymer elongation, and substrate specificity is determined in part by a bulky Phe/Tyr/Trp residue in the third branch in class I, which is conserved as Ala in class II to create room for longer substrates. The PhaCAqmodel provides fresh insights into a general PhaC mechanism, pinpointing key residues for potential engineering of PhaCs with desirable characteristics.
Transcriptomes and Raman spectra are linked linearly through a shared low-dimensional subspace
Authors: Kobayashi-Kirschvink Koseki J. , Nakaoka Hidenori , Oda Arisa , Kamei Ken-ichiro F. , Nosho Kazuki , Fukushima Hiroko , Kanesaki Yu , Yajima Shunsuke , Masaki Haruhiko , Ohta Kunihiro , Wakamoto Yuichi
Published: December 2017

Raman spectroscopy is an imaging technique that can reflect whole-cell molecular compositionsin vivo,and has been applied recently in cell biology to characterize different cell types and states. However, due to the complex molecular compositions and spectral overlaps, the interpretation of cellular Raman spectra have remained unclear. In this report, we compared cellular Raman spectra to transcriptomes ofSchizosaccharomyces pombeandEscherichia coli,and provide firm evidence that they can be computationally connected and interpreted. Specifically, we find that the dimensions of high-dimensional Raman spectra and transcriptomes measured by RNA-seq can be effectively reduced and connected linearly through a shared low-dimensional subspace. Accordingly, we were able to reconstruct global gene expression profiles by applying the calculated transformation matrix to Raman spectra, and vice versa. Strikingly, highly expressed ncRNAs contributed to the Raman-transcriptome linear correspondence more significantly than mRNAs inS. pombe,which implies their major role in coordinating molecular compositions. This compatibility between whole-cell Raman spectra and transcriptomes marks an important and promising step towards establishing spectroscopic live-cell omics studies.
SemEHR: A General-purpose Semantic Search System to Surface Semantic Data from Clinical Notes for Tailored Care, Trial Recruitment and Clinical Research
Authors: Wu Honghan , Toti Giulia , Morley Katherine I. , Ibrahim Zina M. , Folarin Amos , Jackson Richard , Kartoglu Ismail , Agrawal Asha , Stringer Clive , Gale Darren , Gorrell Genevieve , Roberts Angus , Broadbent Matthew , Stewart Robert , Dobson Richard JB
Published: December 2017

Objective

Unlocking the data contained within both structured and unstructured components of Electronic Health Records (EHRs) has the potential to provide a step change in data available forsecondary research use, generation of actionable medical insights, hospital management and trial recruitment. To achieve this, we implemented SemEHR - a semantic search and analytics, open source tool for EHRs.

Methods

SemEHR implements a generic information extraction (IE) and retrieval infrastructure by identifying contextualised mentions of a wide range of biomedical concepts within EHRs. Natural Language Processing (NLP) annotations are further assembled at patient level and extended with EHR-specific knowledge to generate a timeline for each patient. The semantic data is serviced via ontology-based search and analytics interfaces.

Results

SemEHR has been deployed to a number of UK hospitals including the Clinical Record Interactive Search (CRIS), an anonymised replica of the EHR of the UK South London and Maudsley (SLaM) NHS Foundation Trust, one of Europes largest providers of mental health services. In two CRIS-based studies, SemEHR achieved 93% (Hepatitis C case) and 99% (HIV case) F-Measure results in identifying true positive patients. At King’s College Hospital in London, as part of the CogStack programme (github.com/cogstack), SemEHR is being used to recruit patients into the UK Dept of Health 100k Genome Project (genomicsengland.co.uk). The validation study suggests that the tool can validate previously recruited cases and is very fast in searching phenotypes - time for recruitment criteria checking reduced from days to minutes. Validated on an open intensive care EHR data - MIMICIII, the vital signs extracted by SemEHR can achieve around 97% accuracy.

Conclusion

Results from the multiple case studies demonstrate SemEHR’s efficiency - weeks or months of work can be done within hours or minutes in some cases. SemEHR provides a more comprehensive view of a patient, bringing in more and unexpected insight compared to study-oriented bespoke information extraction systems.

SemEHR is open source available at https://github.com/CogStack/SemEHR.
Multi-Parametric and Multi-Regional Histogram Analysis of MRI: Revealing Imaging Phenotypes of Glioblastoma Correlated with Patient Survival
Authors: Li Chao , Wang Shuo , Serra Angela , Torheim Turid , Yan Jiun-Lin , Boonzaier Natalie R , Matys Tomasz , McLean Mary A , Markowetz Florian , Price Stephen J
Published: December 2017

Introduction

Glioblastoma is characterized by its remarkable heterogeneity and dismal prognosis. Histogram analysis of quantitative magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is an important in vivo method to study intratumoral heterogeneity. With large amounts of histogram features generated, integrating these modalities effectively for clinical decision remains a challenge.

Methods

A total of 80 patients with supratentorial primary glioblastoma were recruited. All patients received surgery and standard regimen of temozolomide chemoradiotherapy. Diagnosis was confirmed by pathology. Anatomical T2-weighted, T1-weighted post-contrast and FLAIR images, as well as dynamic susceptibility contrast (DSC), diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) and chemical shift imaging were acquired preoperatively using a 3T MRI scanner. DTI-p, DTI-q, relative cerebral blood volume (rCBV), mean transit time (MTT) and relative cerebral blood flow (rCBF) maps were generated. Contrast-enhancing (CE) and non-enhancing (NE) regions of interest were manually delineated. Voxel intensity histograms were constructed from the CE and NE regions independently. Patient clustering was performed by the Multi-View Biological Data Analysis (MVDA) approach. Kaplan-Meier and Cox proportional hazards regression analyses were performed to evaluate the relevance of the patient clustering to survival. The histogram features selected from MVDA approach were evaluated using receiver operator characteristics (ROC) curve analysis. The metabolic signatures of the patient clusters were analyzed by multivoxel MR spectroscopy (MRS).

Results

The MVDA approach yielded two final patient clusters, consisting of 53 and 27 patients respectively. The two patient subgroups showed significance for overall survival (p = 0.007, HR = 0.32) and progression-free survival (p < 0.001, HR = 0.33) in multivariate Cox regression analysis. Among the features selected by MVDA, higher mean value of DTI-q in the non-enhancing region contributed to a worse OS (HR = 1.40, p = 0.020) and worse PFS (HR = 1.36, p = 0.031). Multivoxel MRS showed N-acetylaspartate/creatine (NAA/Cr) ratio between the two clusters, both in the CE region (p < 0.001) and NE region (p = 0.013). Glutamate/Cr (Glu/Cr) ratio and glutamate + glutamine/Cr (Glx/Cr) of the cluster 1 was significantly lower than cluster 2 (p = 0.037, and 0.027 respectively) In the NE region.

Discussion

This study demonstrated that integrating multi-parametric and multi-regional MRI histogram features may help to stratify patients. The histogram features selected from the proposed approach may be used as potential imaging markers in personalized treatment strategy and response determination.
Robust, real-time and autonomous monitoring of ecosystems with an open, low-cost, networked device
Authors: Sethi Sarab S. , Ewers Robert M. , Jones Nick S. , L. Orme C. David , Picinali Lorenzo
Published: December 2017

Automated methods of monitoring ecosystems provide a cost-effective way to track changes in natural system’s dynamics across temporal and spatial scales. However, methods of recording and storing data captured from the field still require significant manual effort.

Here we introduce an open source, inexpensive, fully autonomous ecosystem monitoring unit for capturing and remotely transmitting continuous data streams from field sites over long time-periods. We provide a modular software framework for deploying various sensors, together with implementations to demonstrate proof of concept for continuous audio monitoring and time-lapse photography.

We show how our system can outperform comparable technologies for fractions of the cost, provided a local mobile network link is available. The system is robust to unreliable network signals and has been shown to function in extreme environmental conditions, such as in the tropical rainforests of Sabah, Borneo.

We provide full details on how to assemble the hardware, and the open-source software. Paired with appropriate automated analysis techniques, this system could provide spatially dense, near real-time, continuous insights into ecosystem and biodiversity dynamics at a low cost.
BDNF and Tau as biomarkers of severity in Multiple Sclerosis
Authors: Azul Islas-Hernandez , Seacatl Aguilar-Talamantes Hugo , Brenda Bertado-Cortes , de Jesus Mejia-delCastillo Georgina , Raul Carrera-Pineda , Carlos Cuevas-Garcia , Paola Garcia-delaTorre
Published: December 2017

Aims

Determine if serum levels of tau and brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) can be used as severity biomarkers in multiple sclerosis (MS).

Patients and methods

Subjects with MS, older than 18 and younger than 55 years were included; 74 patients with a diagnosis of relapsing-remitting MS (RRMS), 11 with secondary-progressive MS (SPMS), and 88 controls were included. Total tau and BDNF were measured by western blot.

Results

Increased tau and decreased BDNF in MS patients compared to controls was found. Total-tau has a peak in RRMS, the second decile of the Multiple Sclerosis Severity Score, and in the lowest Expanded Disability Status Scale and is no different than controls for SPMS patients and the most severe cases of MS.

Conclusion

BDNF is a good biomarker for diagnosis of MS but not for severity or progression. Tau appears to have a more active role in the progression of MS.
An IAEA multi-technique X-ray spectrometry endstation at Elettra Sincrotrone Trieste: benchmarking results and interdisciplinary applications
Authors: Karydas Andreas Germanos , Czyzycki Mateusz , Leani Juan José , Migliori Alessandro , Osan Janos , Bogovac Mladen , Wrobel Pawel , Vakula Nikita , Padilla-Alvarez Roman , Menk Ralf Hendrik , Gol Maryam Ghahremani , Antonelli Matias , Tiwari Manoj K , Caliri Claudia , Vogel-Mikuš Katarina , Darby Iain , Kaiser Ralf Bernd
Published: December 2017

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) jointly with the Elettra Sincrotrone Trieste (EST) operates a multipurpose X-ray spectrometry endstation at the X-ray Fluorescence beamline (10.1L). The facility has been available to external users since the beginning of 2015 through the peer-review process of EST. Using this collaboration framework, the IAEA supports and promotes synchrotron-radiation-based research and training activities for various research groups from the IAEA Member States, especially those who have limited previous experience and resources to access a synchrotron radiation facility. This paper aims to provide a broad overview about various analytical capabilities, intrinsic features and performance figures of the IAEA X-ray spectrometry endstation through the measured results. The IAEA–EST endstation works with monochromatic X-rays in the energy range 3.7–14 keV for the Elettra storage ring operating at 2.0 or 2.4 GeV electron energy. It offers a combination of different advanced analytical probes, e.g. X-ray reflectivity, X-ray absorption fine-structure measurements, grazing-incidence X-ray fluorescence measurements, using different excitation and detection geometries, and thereby supports a comprehensive characterization for different kinds of nanostructured and bulk materials.
5-Acetyl-6-methyl-4-phenyl-1-(prop-2-ynyl)-3,4-dihydropyrimidin-2(1H)-one
Authors: Kaoukabi Hanane , Taourirte Moha , Lazrek Hassan B. , El Azhari Mohamed , Saadi Mohamed , El Ammari Lahcen
Published: December 2017

The 4-dihydropyrimidin-2(1H)-one moiety of the title molecule, C16H16N2O2, displays a half-chair conformation. The least-squares mean plane through this heterocycle is almost perpendicular to the aromatic ring [dihedral angle = 89.52 (8)°] and to the prop-2-ynyl chain [C—C—N—C torsion angle of −73.2 (2)°]. The mean plane through the acetyl group makes a dihedral angle of 30.93 (10)° with the mean plane of the heterocycle. There is an intramolecular C—H...O hydrogen bond forming anS(6) ring motif. In the crystal, molecules are linked by pairs of N—H...O hydrogen bonds forming inversion dimers.
Are Chinese market-neutral strategy hedge funds really market neutral?
Authors: Huang Xucheng , Sun Jie
Published: December 2017

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to empirically analyze the “market-neutral” characteristics of the market-neutral strategy hedge funds in Chinese A-share market.

Design/methodology/approach

The analyses in the paper are conducted to study the market-neutral characteristics by means of index analysis, correlation analysis, β-neutral analysis and the three-factor model analysis.

Findings

The results show that the performance advantage of the market-neutral strategy hedge funds is obvious. Most market-neutral strategy funds are exposed to market risks and the α strategy funds also have obvious style factor exposure; strictly speaking, all of the market-neutral strategies have not reached the “market-neutral” requirements. This paper also finds that Chinese trading restrictions on stock index futures in September 2015 have a significant impact on Chinese market-neutral strategy hedge funds.

Originality/value

The conclusion of this paper has a certain reference value for understanding the risk characteristics and possible problems of hedge funds in emerging markets, and also has important reference value for investors.
Land value capture strategies in PPP – what can FM learn from it?
Authors: Salaj Alenka Temeljotov , Roumboutsos Athena , Verlič Peter , Grum Bojan
Published: December 2017

Purpose

Value capture seeks to generate revenue by extracting a portion of the gains in the value of land and property that result from improvements to transportation networks. The paper aims to present the opportunities for facilities management (FM) on the level of participating more actively in the development of new area to help building a competitive and healthy area with high quality for residence, business and spare time. A framework also includes life period land valuation in the land value capture (LVC) for the assessment and revenue models for public private partnership (PPP) type of investments in the way to identify additional private profit so as to attract landlords to join the project.

Design/methodology/approach

Land valuation for expropriation is a useful method, which can be evaluated through the life period of the infrastructure. The value capture strategies are identified and respective policies are evaluated. Periodically, market value assessment of land within the value capture model is designed, by which the private partners could be attracted.

Findings

In the paper, LVC shows how the relation to increase value of land can bring competitive areas and as such give new opportunity for FM.

Originality/value

Capturing land value and widening the internalisation of external positive impacts enhances the perspective of project assessment and PPP financing models. This model may be used by public and private sector parties involved in PPP arrangements to improve project evaluation and the base of project finance.
Do the competitors affect cross-buying decisions?
Authors: Vyas Vishal , Roy Ankur , Raitani Sonika
Published: December 2017

Purpose

Understanding the effect of competitor’s marketing activities as well as analyzing the impact of one’s own marketing activities is equally important. The purpose of this paper is to determine the role of competing bank’s marketing activities (i.e. competitor’s price and product variety) and main bank’s characteristics (bank’s reputation and expertise) in the cross-buying intentions of customers by studying the interrelationships among these.

Design/methodology/approach

This study has adopted a hybrid model of confirmatory factor analysis and the decision-making trial and evaluation laboratory. Data were gathered from two different samples of bank customers and bank experts, using closed-ended questionnaire.

Findings

The results revealed that competitor’s price influences the cross-buying intentions of customers more than the reputation and expertise of primary bank. Bank’s reputation, expertise and competitor’s price were found causing factors. The remaining two factors, namely competitor’s product variety and cross-buying intentions, were belonging to the effect group.

Practical implications

For practice, this study guides banking institutions for resource allocation. Continuous and extensive staff training should be provided to sales staff. Bank should realize customers that they are getting much more value in return of what they are paying.

Originality/value

This study is one of few studies in marketing literature which investigates the effect of competitors on cross-buying.
Emotional appeals in UK business-to-business financial services advertisements
Authors: Mogaji Emmanuel , Czarnecka Barbara , Danbury Annie
Published: December 2017

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is twofold: to analyse the use of emotional appeals in business-to-business (B2B) bank advertisements and to understand business owners’ perceptions of such appeals.

Design/methodology/approach

In Study 1,834 print advertisements collected from British newspapers were content analysed. In Study 2, semi-structured interviews with 17 business owners operating a business current account with a British bank were carried out.

Findings

Emotional appeals are embedded in B2B financial services advertisements, and business owners acknowledge the presence of emotional appeals; however, the perceived congruency between emotional appeal and financial services could not be established as participants reported a largely utilitarian, need- and benefit-driven decision-making process.

Research limitations/implications

Accurately measuring emotions aroused through advertisements is considered a limitation. In addition, the sample of participants considered for this research project was small and medium-sized business owners.

Practical implications

Emotional appeals should be used in conjunction with detailed rational information about financial products, as emotional appeals only arouse interest. Relationship is considered crucial in capitalising on the emotionally appealing advertisements. Customers must feel appreciated and loyalty should be rewarded.

Originality/value

The paper responds to numerous calls for more research into the role of emotional influences on the relationships in a B2B context and on the behaviour of business customers.
Brand equity and customer behavioral intentions: a mediated moderated model
Authors: Rambocas Meena , Kirpalani Vishnu M. , Simms Errol
Published: December 2017

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine the relationship between brand equity and customer behavioral intentions to repeat purchases, willingness to pay a price premium, switch and provide positive word of mouth. It further explores the mediating role of customer satisfaction and the moderating impact of customer age, education and gender on these relationships.

Design/methodology/approach

Data were collected from 283 banking customers and analyzed with structural equation modeling.

Findings

The results supported a strong relationship between brand equity and all four measures of behavioral intent with customer satisfaction partially mediating these relationships. In addition, the results supported the moderating effect of customer age and education on the customer satisfaction-switch relationship.

Practical implications

The study provides a useful perspective on the impact of brand building investments on consumers’ behavioral intentions, which bank managers can use to monitor and evaluate the outcome of branding initiatives and relationship management strategies.

Originality/value

The study provides a nuanced understanding of the effect of brand equity on consumer behavioral intentions. It also explains the mediating and moderating effects of customer satisfaction and demographical characteristics.
Bank and product selection – an Australian student perspective
Authors: Tucker Mark , Jubb Christine
Published: December 2017

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to investigate and comment on the factors used by Australian students to select their bank and the products and services they utilise, based on responses to an online questionnaire.

Design/methodology/approach

A mixed-methods approach, incorporating both qualitative and quantitative methods, was used to investigate this research issue. Convenience sampling resulted in 276 completed online responses. Mean ranking and factor analysis methods were employed to identify the key factors used in selecting a bank and frequency analysis used to examine the products and services utilised by students.

Findings

The key factors used by students to select a bank in Australia were bank competence, recommendations and outside influences, bank costs, returns and services, and finally location. The main bank products and services used by students were automated teller machines (ATMs), savings accounts, internet and telephone banking, and debit cards.

Research limitations/implications

The use of an online survey which limits the pool of respondents to internet users and, the sample size limits generalisability of the findings.

Practical implications

Banks can better target and understand the key determinants used by students in selecting a bank and the products and services this group values. This will allow Australian banks to develop programs to better attract and retain student customers.

Originality/value

Provides insight to and understanding of the determinants used by students to select their bank and the products and services they utilise. Furthermore, this study fills a gap in the literature by focusing on the banking behaviour of Australian students, an important segment of bank customers previously under-researched.
Government expenditure and economic growth in the European Union countries
Authors: Dudzevičiūtė Gitana , Šimelytė Agnė , Liučvaitienė Aušra
Published: December 2017

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to provide more reliable estimates of the relationship between government spending and economic growth in the European Union (EU) during the period of 1995-2015.

Design/methodology/approach

The methodology consisted of several different stages. In the first stage for an assessment of dynamics of government spending and economic growth indicators over two decades, descriptive statistics analysis was employed. Correlation analysis helped to identify the relationships between government expenditures (GEs) and economic growth. In the third stage, for modeling the relationship and the estimation of causality between GE and economic growth, Granger causality testing was applied.

Findings

The research indicated that eight EU countries have a significant relationship between government spending and economic growth.

Research limitations/implications

This study has been bounded by general GE and economic growth only. The breakdowns of general GE on the basis of the activities they support have not been considered in this paper, which is the main limitation of the research. Despite the limitation, it might be maintained that the research highlights key relationships in the EU countries.

Originality/value

These insights might be useful for policy makers. In countries with unidirectional causality running from GE to economic growth, the government can employ expenditure as a factor for growth. The governments should ensure that resources are properly managed and efficiently allocated to accelerate economic growth in the countries with unidirectional causality from GDP to GE.
Exploring future accountants’ academic fraud (in)tolerance: Oman evidence
Authors: Nahar Hairul Suhaimi
Published: December 2017

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to explore the (in)tolerance level of accounting major students in Oman toward identified integrity destroying academic activities.

Design/methodology/approach

A triangulation approach was adopted whereby a questionnaire survey on academic fraud (AF) was administered to a group of Omani major accounting students. The descriptive statistical results were further analyzed and validated using in-depth interviews in exploring further the students’ tolerance decisions.

Findings

A conceivably low and non-disturbing tolerance level toward the myriads of integrity destroying academic activities was documented. The tolerance is, however, observed to be dynamic in nature as it is sensitive to fraud “severity” and “seriousness”, i.e. it increases as AF activities become less severe and serious. Minor free-ride is tolerated the most, followed by minor plagiarism and seldom forgery. These AF activities were tolerated most by female and academically weak students. The varying results suggest that demographic factors do play a role in shaping Omani future accountants’ AF tolerance. The interview results further point to the intertwined factors of academic, family and peers, as well as religion that primarily influence their AF tolerance levels.

Originality/value

The research fills the extremely scarce accounting education literature in Oman by documenting fresh evidence of AF (in)tolerance among future members of the country’s accountancy profession. As academic is the primary source of accountants’ accountability and integrity knowledge and training base, investigating accounting students’ tolerance toward integrity in the acute context of AF would effectively provide a reflection of the profession’s future integrity environment.
Public accounting vs private accounting, career choice of accounting students in China
Authors: Wen Lei , Yang Hongwei (Chris) , Bu Danlu , Diers Lizabeth , Wang Huaqing
Published: December 2017

Purpose

Built upon three components (attitudes, subjective norms, and perceived behavioral control) of the theory of planned behavior (TPB), the purpose of this paper is to analyze the factors that influenced accounting students’ intention to pursue public accounting instead of private accounting as their career choice in China.

Design/methodology/approach

The TPB is used to predict the rational intention of accounting students in this study. A binary logistic regression analysis was applied to test all hypotheses because of its suitability.

Findings

The authors find that the variety and marketability of public accounting experiences, high turnover plus, low firm cohesion in the workplace, and perceived difficulties in traveling extensively affected students’ intentions to pursue the public accounting profession significantly. By highlighting these factors that affect students’ intention to pursue public accounting, this paper has important implications for the accounting educators and other stakeholders in China and other emerging economies.

Originality/value

By understanding the factors influencing the accounting students’ interests in pursuing public accounting, accounting educators and accounting firms could make some changes, redesign accounting curriculum, and enhance internship experience and recruiting process in order to increase more interests in public accounting. Professional organizations and policy makers might learn some lessons to take some actions to encourage young accounting professionals to work for public accounting firms. Moreover, this study has provided a valuable perspective to accounting educators, practitioners, and policy makers in other emerging economies with the same shortage of qualified public accountants.
The impact of control quality on the non-performing loans of Tunisian listed banks
Authors: Ben Saada Moufida
Published: December 2017

Purpose

This paper aims to explore the extent to which the control quality impacts non performing loans (NPLs) of Tunisian listed banks by integrating the guidelines of Circular No. 2011-06 issued on 20 May 2011 by Tunisian Central Bank.

Design/methodology/approach

Regressions using panel data are applied on a sample of 11 listed banks during the period from 2010 to 2015.

Findings

The results show that the presence of foreign directors on the Tunisian bank board affects credit risk. These administrators, with knowledge, independence and technology transfer, exercise more control than institutional administrators or state representatives. The risk committee is more effective than the other committees (audit committee and credit committee) in reducing non-performing loans. The role played by this body is the most important.

Practical implications

Testing empirically the impact of control quality on NPL by integrating the guidelines of the Central Bank leads to a better evaluation of reforms’ application and effective measures to strengthen the banking governance practices.

Originality value

By exploring the application of the Central Bank’s guidelines for strengthening post-revolutionary banking governance practices, it becomes easy to assess the extent of the Circular No. 2011-06 by accounting practitioners, auditors and authority bodies to give the necessary recommendations for further reforms.
Magnetohydrodynamic radiative nanofluid flow over a rotating surface with Soret effect
Authors: Sulochana C. , S.P. Samrat , N. Sandeep
Published: December 2017

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to theoretically investigate the boundary layer nature of magnetohydrodynamic nanofluid flow past a vertical expanding surface in a rotating geometry with viscous dissipation, thermal radiation, Soret effect and chemical reaction.

Design/methodology/approach

The self-similarity variables are deliberated to transmute the elementary governing equations. The analytical perturbation technique is used to elaborate the united nonlinear ODEs.

Findings

To check the disparity on the boundary layer nature, the authors measured two nanofluids, namely, Cu-water and Cu-Kerosene based nanofluids. It is found that the Cu-water is effectively enhancing the thermal conductivity of the flow when compared with the Cu-kerosene.

Originality/value

Till now no analytical studies are reported on heat transfer enhancement of the rotating nanofluid flow by considering two different base fluids.
Investigation of heat generation/absorption on natural convection flow in a vertical annular micro-channel
Authors: Jha Basant Kumar , Aina Babatunde
Published: December 2017

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to further extend the work of Weng and Chen (2009) by considering heat generation/absorption nature of fluid.

Design/methodology/approach

Exact solution of momentum equation is derived separately in terms of Bessel’s function of first and second kind for heat-generating fluid and modified Bessel’s function of first and second kind for heat absorbing fluid.

Findings

During the course of numerical computations, it is found that skin friction and rate of heat transfer at outer surface of inner cylinder and inner surface of outer cylinder increases with the increase in heat generation parameter while the reverse trend is found in the case of heat absorption parameter.

Originality/value

In view of the amount of works done on natural convection with internal heat generation/absorption, it becomes interesting to investigate the effect of this important activity on natural convection flow in a vertical annular micro-channel. The purpose of this paper is to further extend the work of Weng and Chen (2009) by considering heat generation/absorption nature of fluid.
Enhancing performance by disclosing more: some evidence from Japanese companies
Authors: Kumarasinghe Sriyalatha , Will Mitchell , Hoshino Yasuo
Published: December 2017

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to investigate the value relevance of corporate social responsibility disclosures (CSRDs) in English language annual reports in Japanese companies. Based on the stakeholder theory framework, the long-term effects of CSRD on financial and market performance are examined. There is relatively little research dealing with actual CSR reporting in Japanese companies.

Design/methodology/approach

Using modified versions of those given by Ohlson (1995) and Ruf et al. (2001), six dimensions of CSRD based on the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) guidelines and three different measures of performance data are used to examine the relationship between CSRDs and performance in 101 dual-language-reporting Japanese firms.

Findings

The paper finds that the more a company discloses CSR on labour, human rights and product safety and health in the company’s annual report, the more it is rewarded with a higher level of financial and market performance.

Originality/value

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first paper to provide evidence of the incremental value of GRI-based CSRD to both financial and market performance in companies with dual-language reporting in Japan, a country with a high tendency to follow the Western practice of CSRD.
Gauging the impact of knowledge management practices on organizational performance – a balanced scorecard perspective
Authors: Gupta Vikas , Chopra Meenu
Published: December 2017

Purpose

This paper aims to explore knowledge management (KM) literature to understand the relationships among different KM practices and organizational performance (OP) in terms of the four balanced scorecard (BSC) outcomes, i.e. learning and growth, internal process, customer satisfaction and financial performance, as a measure of OP.

Design/methodology/approach

A systematic review of peer-reviewed journal articles has been carried out of theoretical and empirical articles to understand the linkages between KM practices and OP, accessed mainly through sources, such as ProQuest, EBSCO host, Google Scholar and other e-databases. Measures of OP have also been extracted from the literature and grouped under the four BSC outcomes to gauge the gravity of the effect. An integrated conceptual framework helps to explore the relationship between the said variables.

Findings

This study provides a conceptual model of the effect of various KM practices on different aspects of OP measured through BSC. It contributes to organizations by helping them understand the importance of integration of the KM efforts to obtain desirable results. It will, for the first time, put the entire organization in perspective and help managers draw a bigger picture to understand the overall effect of KM practices.

Research limitations/implications

First, the KM practices shortlisted for this research are extensive but the list may not be exhaustive. Second, the model is not empirically proved. Findings of the study would help in creating a roadmap to enhance performance by a successful implementation of KM practices.

Originality/value

This paper contributes to KM literature by adding the fact that KM practices not only affect learning and growth perspective of an organization but also have far-reaching effects on OP in terms of customer service perspective, internal process perspective and financial perspective.
How supplier knowledge impacts on organizational capabilities and willingness
Authors: Akhavan Peyman , Shahabipour Ali , Hosnavi Reza
Published: December 2017

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to conduct a survey on the knowledge for supplier correlation with their capabilities and willingness as segmentation criteria. There are many contexts for sharing knowledge. What are more beneficial contexts?

Design/methodology/approach

After developing the research hypothesis, a structured questionnaire was adopted to gather primary data from suppliers. The draft questionnaire was sent to five academic and industry experts to comment on the content. Received feedback was used to change the layout of the questionnaire. Instead of the traditional partial least squares, the state-of- art consistent partial least square technique was put into practice.

Findings

By definition, knowledge for supplier has a large impact on supplier capabilities. The Important-Performance Matrix Analysis (IPMA) prioritizes the indicators and suggests to focus on knowledge sharing about manufacturing processes, development expertise and marketing expertise. Results showed that supplier willingness for sharing confidential knowledge and longtime relationship depends on development programs.

Practical implications

Having a communication mechanism for each of the partnerships’ specific contexts was suggested to maximize the knowledge flow.

Originality/value

For maximizing the knowledge flow and studying the effect on the segmentation criteria such as capability and willingness, the main contribution of the paper is to survey the supplier knowledge in depth. The IPMA was implemented to highlight the indicators.
Diagnostic criteria, severity classification and guidelines of lichen sclerosus et atrophicus
Authors: Hasegawa Minoru , Ishikawa Osamu , Asano Yoshihide , Sato Shinichi , Jinnin Masatoshi , Takehara Kazuhiko , Fujimoto Manabu , Yamamoto Toshiyuki , Ihn Hironobu
Published: December 2017

We established diagnostic criteria and severity classification of lichen sclerosus et atrophicus, because there is no established diagnostic criteria or widely accepted severity classification of the disease. Also, there is no clinical guideline for lichen sclerosus et atrophicus in Japan, so we proposed its clinical guideline. The clinical guidelines were formulated by clinical questions and recommendations on the basis of evidence‐based medicine according to the New Minds Clinical Practice Guideline Creation Manual (version 1.0). We aimed to make the guidelines easy to use and reliable including the newest evidence, and to present guidance for various clinical problems in treatment of lichen sclerosus et atrophicus.
Syntax and reading comprehension: a meta‐analysis of different spoken‐syntax assessments
Authors: Brimo Danielle , Lund Emily , Sapp Alysha
Published: December 2017

Background

Syntax is a language skill purported to support children's reading comprehension. However, researchers who have examined whether children with average and below‐average reading comprehension score significantly different on spoken‐syntax assessments report inconsistent results.

Aims

To determine if differences in how syntax is measured affect whether children with average and below‐average reading comprehension score significantly different on spoken‐syntax assessments.

Methods & Procedures

Studies that included a group comparison design, children with average and below‐average reading comprehension, and a spoken‐syntax assessment were selected for review. Fourteen articles from a total of 1281 reviewed met the inclusionary criteria. The 14 articles were coded for the age of the children, score on the reading comprehension assessment, type of spoken‐syntax assessment, type of syntax construct measured and score on the spoken‐syntax assessment. A random‐effects model was used to analyze the difference between the effect sizes of the types of spoken‐syntax assessments and the difference between the effect sizes of the syntax construct measured.

Outcomes & Results

There was a significant difference between children with average and below‐average reading comprehension on spoken‐syntax assessments. Those with average and below‐average reading comprehension scored significantly different on spoken‐syntax assessments when norm‐referenced and researcher‐created assessments were compared. However, when the type of construct was compared, children with average and below‐average reading comprehension scored significantly different on assessments that measured knowledge of spoken syntax, but not on assessments that measured awareness of spoken syntax.

Conclusions & Implications

The results of this meta‐analysis confirmed that the type of spoken‐syntax assessment, whether norm‐referenced or researcher‐created, did not explain why some researchers reported that there were no significant differences between children with average and below‐average reading comprehension, but the syntax construct, awareness or knowledge, did. Thus, when selecting how to measure syntax among school‐age children, researchers and practitioners should evaluate whether they are measuring children's awareness of spoken syntax or knowledge of spoken syntax. Other differences, such as participant diagnosis and the format of items on the spoken‐syntax assessments, also were discussed as possible explanations for why researchers found that children with average and below‐average reading comprehension did not score significantly differently on spoken‐syntax assessments.
Science or liberal arts? Cultural capital and college major choice in China
Authors: Hu Anning , Wu Xiaogang
Published: December 2017

Previous studies on major East Asian societies such as Japan and Korea generally fail to find a strong effect of cultural capital in educational inequality, partly due to the characteristic extreme focus on standardized test and curriculum. This study shifts attention to the horizontal stratification of education by investigating the association between family background, cultural capital, and college major choice in contemporary China. Based on analysis of data from the Beijing College Students Panel Survey (BCSPS), we found that, on average, cultural capital significantly mediates the relationship between family background and college major preference. Those with greater endowment of cultural capital are more likely to come from socio‐economically advantaged families, and, at the same time, demonstrate a stronger propensity to major in liberal arts fields rather than science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) fields. Further analyses reveal that the association between cultural capital and academic field choice comes into being by way of performance in the Chinese test in the national college entrance examination and of the non‐cognitive dispositions, such as self‐efficacy and self‐esteem. Our findings better our understanding of formation of the horizontal stratification of higher education.