bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Lean and Green: practices, paradigms and future prospects
Authors: Marco-Ferreira Antonio , Stefanelli Nelson Oliveira , Seles Bruno Michel Roman Pais , Fidelis Reginaldo
Published: June 2019

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to present an overview of the conceptual framework related to the Lean and Green practices, paradigms, future prospects and problems, indicating points of convergence and divergence between them.

Design/methodology/approach

Based on this premise, through vast literature systematization, the authors sought to categorize studies in order to consolidate constructs, reinforcing aspects regarding the positive and negative approaches and pointing out the gaps in the current state of the art. Broad literature systematization was carried out; the authors found 107 articles published between 2014 and 2018, separated into 10 categories.

Findings

The main constructs confirmed are the positive approximation of the Lean and Green union, evidenced by studies premised on the independent variable category demonstrating that their union influences other environmental performance variables.

Research limitations/implications

The present research is a systematization of the literature, so its results have to be confirmed by other studies.

Practical implications

The study supports the Lean and Green theme, confirming converging issues between the two areas and launching new topics for future research.

Social implications

The study contributed to the environmental theme by confirming synergies of the Lean and Green union and presenting new research themes.

Originality/value

To assert that Lean and Green systems union is sustainable, with regard to the tripod of sustainability, more studies on the social category are necessary.
Resilience and resisting resilience: ethnographies in neoliberal L’Aquila post-earthquake
Authors: Ciccaglione Rita
Published: June 2019

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to analyze the relationships between neoliberal institutional management of the 2009 L’Aquila earthquake and the local dwelling practices, which consequently originated in the new urban layout.

Design/methodology/approach

It presents itself as a post-catastrophe ethnography carried out from a specific approach, that is, the street ethnography that consists of collecting the practices and discourses of inhabitants, administrators, experts and commercial operators, which take place on or around the street.

Findings

Illustrating the stages from the declaration of the state of emergency to the expertise-proposed reconstruction models, it shows the differences between resilient strategies and policies of urban management and resistant dwelling practices that are analyzed progressively focusing on a particular social group: the teenagers of the alleys.

Research limitations/implications

Descending in the alleys means to take a micro-sight that ables to identify present living paths.

Practical implications

Based on a long fieldwork, it bridges the gap between “theories” and practices, and it highlights those fields of action that despite being dominated by wide-ranging disaster management and urban planning logics bring out the work of social life in reweaving its threads in contexts of crisis.

Social implications

Paying attention to a social portion that often escapes from ethnographic investigation, this study has the merit of dealing with teenagers in this kind of situation.

Originality/value

Indeed, this part of society and its creative “culture” receive the focus of a few studies, especially in case of catastrophes.
Out-of-body experience
Authors: Adams-Clark Alexis A. , Rosenthal Marina N. , Freyd Jennifer J.
Published: June 2019

Purpose

Although prior research has indicated that posttraumatic stress symptoms may result from sex-based harassment, limited research has targeted a key posttraumatic outcome – dissociation. Dissociation has been linked to experiences of betrayal trauma and institutional betrayal; sex-based harassment is very often a significant betrayal creating a bind for the target. The purpose of this paper is to extend existing research by investigating the relationship between sex-based harassment, general dissociation, sexual dissociation and sexual communication.

Design/methodology/approach

This exploratory study utilized self-report measures from a sample of male and female Oregon residents using Amazon Mechanical Turk (N=582).

Findings

Results of regression analyses indicated that harassment statistically predicted higher general dissociation, higher sexual dissociation and less effective sexual communication, even after controlling for prior sexual trauma experiences. Results did not indicate any significant interactions between gender and harassment.

Practical implications

When considering the effects of sex-based harassment on women and men, clinicians and institutional organizations should consider the role of dissociation as a possible coping mechanism for harassment.

Originality/value

These correlational findings provide evidence that sex-based harassment is uniquely associated with multiple negative psychological outcomes in men and women.
Examining operational wastes within Greek banking operations
Authors: Allen Robert Anthony , Panagoulis Giannis , White Gareth Reginald Terence
Published: June 2019

Purpose

In order to address operational effectiveness in the banking sector caused by the 2008 global economic crisis, the purpose of this paper is to examine the nature of operational wastes that exist within four large Greek banks.

Design/methodology/approach

A Delphi study was undertaken with ten managers and ten employees.

Findings

The waste of underutilised people is found to be the dominant form of waste present and affecting the efficiency of banking operations, and managers and employees consider the waste of underutilised people as having a significant influence on the efficiency of the banking sector.

Practical implications

This has implications for managers of banking operations needing to address efficiencies in an increasingly competitive global economic environment. The paper also highlights the drawbacks of analysing typologies of waste across organisations and industrial sectors.

Originality/value

While some studies have examined the overall efficiency banking sector, to date, none has explored the nature of the inefficiencies that manifest as waste.
Married couples’ perceptions on women’s autonomy and subjective well-being in Lao PDR
Authors: Yoshikawa Kanako , Kamiya Yusuke
Published: June 2019

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine the perceptions of married couples regarding women’s autonomy and the association of these perceptions with the subjective well-being of wives in Lao PDR.

Design/methodology/approach

The study was conducted in semi-urban communities in Vientiane Capital of Lao PDR. Data were collected from 198 matched married couples with children under 12 years of age. Cross-tabulation analysis and multivariate regression analysis were used to assess the association between couple’s perceptions regarding women’s autonomy and the subjective well-being of wives.

Findings

Results from regression analysis revealed a positive association between the self-reported autonomy of wives and their subjective well-being. In contrast, neither the husband’s perceptions nor the couple’s concordance regarding the autonomy of the wife was associated with the level of the wife’s subjective well-being.

Research limitations/implications

The survey was conducted in four small communities in Vientiane Capital. Thus, larger and more representative studies covering the entire country would be preferable for future policy orientation.

Originality/value

The study sites belong to the Lao-Lum group, which follows a matrilineal inheritance system under which wives generally enjoy a relatively higher social status than do women elsewhere in the world. The findings suggest that, even in women-centered settings, interventions aimed at increasing a woman’s perception of her household decision-making autonomy can improve her subjective well-being.
Dynamism between selected macroeconomic determinants and electricity consumption in India
Authors: Sharma Rajesh , Kautish Pradeep
Published: June 2019

Purpose

By disentangling the impact of positive and negative shocks of GDP, FDI and oil consumption on electricity consumption, the purpose of this paper is to investigate whether this bifurcation significantly determines the level of electricity consumption in the short run and long run.

Design/methodology/approach

Using the recently developed nonlinear autoregressive distributed lag (NARDL) bounds approach, the study investigates the changes in the level of electricity consumption over a period of 1980–2015. The inclusion of a dummy variable for the possible structural break makes the electricity demand function more reliable. After checking the stationarity of data series, the study has employed the bounds test, which confirms the existence of the long run stability in the system. Further, using the VECM, the causality among the comprised variables has also been examined.

Findings

The findings confirm that not only the positive shocks but also the negative shocks in GDP have a positive and significant impact on electricity consumption in the long run. Similarly, the increased FDI has widened the scope of electricity consumption in the region, whereas the negative shocks’ impact is found negative in the long run. In comparison to GDP and FDI, the influence of the increased oil consumption on electricity demand is found negative and significant in India, which reveals that electricity acts as a significant substitute for oil consumption in the long run.

Originality/value

To the best of the literature evidences available, none of the studies in the past has examined electricity demand in an NARDL framework. The study may help in estimating the demand for electricity consumption comprehensively, as this approach captures the separate influence of favourable and unfavourable changes while determining the level of electricity consumption. This approach may be crucial for policy makers, especially in an energy importer country, such as India.
Innovating the customer loyalty program with social media
Authors: He Wu , Tian Xin , Wang Feng-Kwei
Published: June 2019

Purpose

Few academic studies specifically investigate how businesses can use social media to innovate customer loyalty programs. The purpose of this paper is to present an in-depth case study of the Shop Your Way (SYW) program, which is regarded as one of the most successful customer loyalty programs with social media.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper uses case study research as the methodology to uncover innovative features associated with the SYW customer loyalty program. The authors collected the data from SYW’s social media forums and tweets. The data set was analyzed using social media analytics tools including the R package and Lexicon.

Findings

Based on the research results, the authors summarize innovative social media features identified from SYW. The authors also provide insights and recommendations for businesses that are seeking to innovate their customer loyalty programs using social media technologies.

Originality/value

The results of this case study set a good example for businesses which want to innovate and improve their customer loyalty programs using social media technologies. This is the first in-depth case study on the SYW program, one of the most successful customer loyalty programs with social media. The results shed light on how social media can innovate customer loyalty programs in both theory and practice.
Analyzing time pressure for software economics
Authors: Razzaq Seher , Huang Jianglin , Sun Hongyi , Xie Min
Published: June 2019

Purpose

The research on people and project factors is found extensively in general but not specific to software engineering. Secondly, the existing research has not concentrated on the communication and time complexity of the teams on software economics. The purpose this paper is to develop a model to investigate and quantify the impact of time pressure (TP) on software economics through the communication influence of software team sizes (TS).

Design/methodology/approach

A research model and five hypotheses are developed based on the gaps in the literature. The data set from International Software Benchmarking Standards Group repository is used for testing the hypotheses.

Findings

Important findings include: smaller TS tends to exert less TP on average; TP is directly proportional to software economics, however; and TP does not affect the productivity required for the software.

Research limitations/implications

The study has the following implications: Selection of an appropriate TS for project completion that ensures minimum pressure on team members; and maximize software outcomes in stress-free environment.

Practical implications

This work is useful for organizations carrying out software projects with teamwork. The project managers can benefit from the results while planning the team factors for achieving the project goals.

Social implications

The results uphold not to exert pressure on the team as it will not only affect the duly completion of the project but also the well-being of employees.

Originality/value

The paper is the first one where the proposition of TP estimation is done using TS and communication complexity, and empirically evaluating the impact of TP on four major software economics are the major key contributions of this research work.
Principles for innovation management in family firms
Authors: Frank Hermann , Kessler Alexander , Bachner Christine , Fuetsch Elena , Suess-Reyes Julia
Published: June 2019

Purpose

Family firms (FF) reveal a considerable heterogeneity in their innovation behavior. Due to the successful long-term preservation of their innovation capacity via special resources and routines, multi-generational FF are of special interest in terms of learning from good practices. Against this background, the purpose of this paper is to ascertain principles for successful innovation behavior in long-term successful FF and to contribute to bridging the theory-practice gap.

Design/method/approach

Results are generated by analyzing innovation and innovation processes in five cases of long-term successful FF. On the basis of these good practice cases, the “rules of the game” of innovating are re-constructed using fine and system analyses based on narrative interviews with the FF CEOs.

Findings

Intense reflection on the innovation characteristics of the five good practice cases along with a critical examination of the literature on innovation in FF were used to derive practical suggestions for FF in the form of 11 principles for FF taking a proactive interest in innovation.

Practical implications

The 11 generated principles of successfully innovative FF were validated by FF CEOs who confirmed the practical relevance of these principles as valuable guidelines for successful innovation. Owners and managers may reflect on these principles against the background of the innovation behavior of their firms and adapt them to their contextual conditions.

Originality/value

These principles serve as tangible suggestions for developing adequate innovation management strategies for individual FF. Furthermore, two FF CEOs were invited to comment on the viability of principles based on their comprehensive practical experience.
Commercial, social and experiential convergence: fashion’s third places
Authors: Alexander Bethan
Published: June 2019

Purpose

This paper aims to examine the third-place phenomenon, within a fashion context, through the theoretical lens of servicescape and experiential retailing. It identifies third places’ typologies, evolution and adoption and explores the opportunities third places offer to retailers when attempting to connect better with consumers.

Design/methodology/approach

Taking a qualitative approach, research was conducted using secondary data sources, observation of 98 retail stores and the shopping-with-consumers technique with 42 informants. Manual thematic analysis and magnitude coding was conducted.

Findings

Third-place fashion practices are prevalent and growing. Their predominant functions include sociability, experiential, restorative and commercial. Variances inherent in third places are expounded and a third-place-dimensions model is proposed.

Research limitations/implications

Due to the chosen research approach, the results are limited in terms of generalizability to other settings. Several research directions are elucidated, including exploration of fashion third places on consumers’ place attachment within specific sectors; the impact of differing age, gender and geographies on third place meaning; virtual and hybrid forms; retailer motivations; and third-place alliances.

Practical implications

The preliminary study serves to support managers to understand how consumers perceive and experience the fashion third place and the potential of the third place to enhance consumer engagement.

Originality/value

The research makes a valuable contribution to the dearth of extant literature on third place within the fashion field. It offers a new theoretical perspective on form, function and benefits of third places as a conduit of social-, experiential-, and commercial-experience consumption.
Using PLS-SEM to build an employability confidence model for higher education recipients in the field of business studies
Authors: Nicolescu Luminita , Nicolescu Ciprian
Published: June 2019

Purpose

This paper aims to present a model of the employability confidence of graduates using employability skills. The purpose of the study is twofold: to identify to what extent self-perceived employability skills (input employability) influence the employability confidence of students/graduates (output employability) and to identify if there are determinant relationships between categories of employability skills.

Design/methodology/approach

The researchers for this study built and tested an employability confidence model which included seven constructs. Six focussed on employability skills “professional skills, transferable individual skills, transferable social skills, personal qualities, job seeking skills and corporate work-related skills”, while the last one focussed on employability confidence, seen as the students’/graduates’ self-reliance for getting and maintaining a job. The model was refined using structural equation modelling (with SmartPLS 3 SEM software) and was tested by empirically, analysing a sample of participants studying business.

Findings

The results illustrated that four categories of skills (personal qualities, professional skills, job seeking skills and transferable social skills) have a positive and significant influence on students’/graduates’ employability confidence, while individual transferable skills and corporate-related skills do not have a significant influence on employability confidence.

Research limitations/implications

The study contributed to the exiting literature by proposing a new model and measurement instrument that links input employability (individual employability skills) with output employability (employability confidence). The model emphasizes the complete range of individual employability skills, the types of skills that are in the control of the individual. It also contributed by collecting data from a less studied country and region, Romania, that can be considered relevant for Central and Eastern Europe due to similar economic, political, cultural and historical characteristics.

Practical implications

From a practical point of view, the results can be of interest to individuals, to universities and the teaching staff, to organizations and their human resource specialists, and to public administrators, as they all can act to support the development of individual employability skills, thereby helping to increase the employability confidence of individuals.

Originality/value

The study contributed to the exiting literature not only by proposing a new conceptual model to analyse employability confidence but also by collecting data from a less studied region, Romania, that can be considered relevant for Central and Eastern Europe due to similar economic, political, cultural and historical characteristics.
Voluntary environmental collaborations and corporate social responsibility in Siem Reap city, Cambodia
Authors: Vitiea Koet , Lim Seunghoo
Published: June 2019

Purpose

This study aims to identify which actors play leadership and brokerage roles in voluntary environmental collaborations and how the corporate social responsibility (CSR) of actors is associated with such voluntary networking behaviours in Cambodia.

Design/methodology/approach

To achieve these purposes, this study mainly uses social network analysis to capture the properties of networking behaviours in the voluntary collaborative activities underlying three main environmental issues: waste disposal, energy and water pollution. The study focusses on the collaborative efforts undertaken by actors across multiple sectors: governmental organizations, for-profits and civil society organizations.

Findings

The results show that the government plays the leading role in voluntary environmental collaborations across environmental issues; however, the actual implementation is expanded to be undertaken by non-state actors. Moreover, CSR has positive associations with networking and brokerage roles; therefore, this study reveals the utility of various voluntary policy instruments.

Practical implications

This study demonstrates the role of governmental initiation and its influence on non-state actors, even for voluntary environmental tools. The CSR initiatives of private actors can also be supported and encouraged by the government, which will promote participation by private actors in voluntary collaborative networks and their leading role as network facilitators.

Social implications

By understanding the positions and roles of each actor in the environmental collaborative networks, environmental policymakers can better understand the possibilities and the capabilities of each actor both to improve policy design and learning and to respond to policy changes effectively.

Originality/value

Voluntary collaboration and CSR are non-regulated policy tools; however, they can be promoted and introduced into society by governmental organizations, and they affect each other.
Social enterprise, social innovation and self-directed care: lessons from Scotland
Authors: Henderson Fiona , Hall Kelly , Mutongi Audrey , Whittam Geoff
Published: June 2019

Purpose

This study aims to explore the opportunities and challenges Self-directed Support policy has presented to Scottish social enterprises, thereby increasing understanding of emerging social care markets arising from international policy-shifts towards empowering social care users to self-direct their care.

Design/methodology/approach

This study used guided conversations with a purposive sample of 19 stakeholders sampled from frontline social care social enterprises; social work; third sector; health; and government.

Findings

An inconsistent social care market has emerged across Scotland as a result of policy change, providing both opportunities and challenges for social enterprises. Social innovation emerged from a supportive partnership between the local authority and social enterprise in one area, but elsewhere local authorities remained change-resistant, evidencing path dependence. Challenges included the private sector “creaming” clients and geographic areas and social enterprises being scapegoated where the local market was failing.

Research limitations/implications

This study involved a small purposively sampled group of stakeholders specifically interested in social enterprise, and hence the findings are suggestive rather than conclusive.

Originality/value

This paper contributes to currently limited academic understanding of the contribution of social enterprise to emerging social care markets arising from the international policy-shifts. Through an historical institutionalism lens, this study also offers new insight into interactions between public institutions and social enterprise care providers. The insights from this paper will support policymakers and researchers to develop a more equitable, sustainable future for social care provision.
Leading innovation – resolving creativity’s paradoxes
Authors: Leavy Brian
Published: June 2019

Purpose

Corporate innovation is an often misunderstood process, largely because managing it successfully requires inherently contradictory aims, such as control and freedom. This article looks at a variety of approaches by leading authorities.

Design/methodology/approach

A number of recent books have examined the paradoxical tensions at the heart of the innovation process. The article assesses the guidance they offer practitioners on how to manage a process replete with conflict and contradictions.

Findings

Several authors suggest unconventional approaches to unleash the talents of individuals and groups in ways that are productive for the organization.

Practical implications

One of the main challenges in leading innovation is to cultivate both cohesion and dissent.

Originality/value

This masterclass is a useful primer for practitioners leading an innovation initiative.
Urban tourism: a systems approach – state of the art
Authors: Romero-García Leticia Elizabeth , Aguilar-Gallegos Norman , Morales-Matamoros Oswaldo , Badillo-Piña Isaías , Tejeida-Padilla Ricardo
Published: June 2019

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to explore the extent of the urban tourism literature that uses the systems approach to outline its research trajectory and detect its trends. Urban tourism is a complex phenomenon whose complexity increases at the very moment it interacts with complex environments. To deal with this kind of issues, urban tourism-related authors have used different approaches, with the systems approach being one of the best alternatives for its understanding and study.

Design/methodology/approach

A systematic literature review was conducted using two sets of keywords related to urban tourism and systems approach. Scopus, ScienceDirect and Web of Science databases were used for the peer-reviewed literature search. After filtering processes were applied, 29 publications were retained for the analysis.

Findings

This paper provides a significant overview of the existing publications regarding this topic. A theme of common interest and trends for future investigations were detected. Based on the findings, future works to be developed with the use of the systems approach, and its tools are proposed.

Originality/value

This review gives promising evidence on that the use of the systems approach for future urban tourism studies is a viable alternative to the application of other dominant approaches, to manage the complexity, diversity and dynamism of the urban tourism and of its environment, which is nowadays addressed as Smart. Then, the paper seeks to foster the use of systems approach and its systemic tools for the understanding and study of urban tourism as a complex system.
Constrained tree growth and gas exchange of seawater‐exposed forests in the Pacific Northwest, USA
Authors: Wang Wenzhi , McDowell Nate G. , Ward Nicholas D. , Indivero Julia , Gunn Cailene , Bailey Vanessa L.
Published: June 2019

Rising sea levels under climate change may have significant impacts on coastal vegetation dynamics, yet the response of coastal forest growth, gas exchange and survival to seawater intrusion remains poorly documented.

We conducted a dendroecology study across six sites in western Washington, USA, to examine how tree growth, gas exchange (indexed by basal area increment (BAI) and wood δ13C respectively), and survival varies with seawater exposure through two approaches. First, tree core samples were collected at a site where seawater exposure started only 4 years prior to sampling, which allowed a cause‐and‐effect test of the impacts of seawater exposure on trees, and second, samples were collected at five additional sites where we compared downstream to upstream trees under current sea‐level conditions.

At the seawater intrusion site, BAI and carbon isotope discrimination (Δ) decreased significantly (p < 0.01) in the year of intrusion (2014) and stayed unchanged thereafter. Four years later (2018), the percentage of recently standing dead trees in the forest was 73.0% of the basal area. Across the regional assessment, percentage of standing dead trees was significantly greater in downstream than upstream forests at five of the six sites (averaged 37.7 ± 11.0% and 4.3 ± 2.1% basal area for downstream and upstream, respectively). Growth was significantly lower (p < 0.01) at the downstream than upstream for five sites, and Δ was lower for all needle‐leaf trees (three sites) on the downstream compared to the upstream, but no difference was observed between downstream and upstream for broad‐leaf trees (three sites).

Synthesis. Combined both the cause‐and‐effect manipulative study and the regional assessment demonstrate that seawater exposure drives reductions in growth, decreased Δ of needle‐leaf trees, increased mortality and greater climate sensitivity, regardless of whether the seawater exposure is recent or long‐term.
A Delphi survey to explore best practice for practitioners offering family intervention for psychosis to families with children
Authors: Thompson Owen , Griffiths Maria , Allen Jo , Jones Fergal
Published: June 2019

Parents experiencing psychosis can face challenges in addition to those usually associated with being a parent, with their children at increased risk of negative outcomes. Although a strong evidence base has shown that family interventions for psychosis (FIp) can mitigate distress for adult relatives, techniques described in the systemic and parenting literature to facilitate the inclusion of children in family therapy are largely absent from the FIp literature and training. This study used a three‐round Delphi survey to investigate what experienced FIp clinicians consider to be best practice regarding the inclusion of children in parental FIp. Findings demonstrated support for including children, with high levels of consensus regarding methods of facilitating their involvement, as well as organisational factors that would support this. The results have important clinical implications given that many FIp practitioners work with families, following brief psychosis specific training, without exposure to the broader literature.
An update of the suicide plasmid‐mediated genome editing system in Corynebacterium glutamicum
Authors: Wang Ting , Li Yanjun , Li Juan , Zhang Dezhi , Cai Ningyun , Zhao Guihong , Ma Hongkun , Shang Can , Ma Qian , Xu Qingyang , Chen Ning
Published: June 2019

Corynebacterium glutamicum is an important industrial microorganism, but the availability of tools for its genetic modification has lagged compared to other model microorganisms such as Escherichia coli. Despite great progress in CRISPR‐based technologies, the most feasible genome editing method in C. glutamicum is suicide plasmid‐mediated, the editing efficiency of which is low due to high false‐positive rates of sacB counter selection, and the requirement for tedious two‐round selection and verification of rare double‐cross‐over events. In this study, an rpsL mutant conferring streptomycin resistance was harnessed for counter selection, significantly increasing the positive selection rate. More importantly, with the aid of high selection efficiencies through the use of antibiotics, namely kanamycin and streptomycin, the two‐step verification strategy can be simplified to just one‐step verification of the final edited strain. As proof of concept, a 2.5‐kb DNA fragment comprising aroGfbrpheAfbr expressing cassettes was integrated into the genome of C. glutamicum, with an efficiency of 20% out of the theoretical 50%. The resulting strain produced 110 mg l−1 l‐tyrosine in shake‐flask fermentation. This updated suicide plasmid‐mediated genome editing system will greatly facilitate genetic manipulations including single nucleotide mutation, gene deletion and gene insertion in C. glutamicum and can be easily applied to other microbes.
The Burmese cat as a genetic model of type 2 diabetes in humans
Authors: Samaha G. , Beatty J. , Wade C. M. , Haase B.
Published: June 2019

The recent extension of genetic tools to the domestic cat, together with the serendipitous consequences of selective breeding, have been essential to the study of the genetic diseases that affect them. Cats are increasingly presented for veterinary surveillance and share many of human's heritable diseases, allowing them to serve as natural models of these conditions. Feline diabetes mellitus is a common condition in domestic cats that bears close pathological and clinical resemblance to type 2 diabetes in humans, including pancreatic β‐cell dysfunction and peripheral insulin resistance. In Australia, New Zealand and Europe, diabetes mellitus is almost four times more common in cats of the Burmese breed than in other breeds. This geographically based breed predisposition parallels familial and population clustering of type 2 diabetes in humans. As a genetically isolated population, the Australian Burmese breed provides a spontaneous, naturally occurring genetic model of type 2 diabetes. Genetically isolated populations typically exhibit extended linkage disequilibrium and increased opportunity for deleterious variants to reach high frequencies over many generations due to genetic drift. Studying complex diseases in such populations allows for tighter control of confounding factors including environmental heterogeneity, allelic frequencies and population stratification. The homogeneous genetic background of Australian Burmese cats may provide a unique opportunity to either refine genetic signals previously associated with type 2 diabetes or identify new risk factors for this disease.
Influence of porosity on lipid preservation in the wall of archaeological pottery
Authors: Drieu L. , Horgnies M. , Binder D. , Pétrequin P. , Pétrequin A.‐M. , Peche‐Quilichini K. , Lachenal T. , Regert M.
Published: June 2019

Porosity of archaeological pottery is a key parameter used to assess its ability to trap lipids during the use of the pot and to preserve them over time. Mercury intrusion porosimetry and gas chromatography were used to study the distribution of porosity and the preservation of lipids in different chrono‐cultural contexts. The data obtained show that the porosity pattern, related to the raw materials and the savoir‐faire of the potters, influences the amount of lipids accumulated in the pottery. A significant overall porosity together with a high level of small pores is generally favourable for the preservation of lipids, but variations related to the environmental context are observed.
Response‐adapted therapy for the treatment of children with newly diagnosed high risk Hodgkin lymphoma (AHOD0831): a report from the Children’s Oncology Group
Authors: Kelly Kara M. , Cole Peter D. , Pei Qinglin , Bush Rizvan , Roberts Kenneth B. , Hodgson David C. , McCarten Kathleen M. , Cho Steve Y. , Schwartz Cindy
Published: June 2019

The AHOD0831 study for paediatric patients with high risk Hodgkin lymphoma tested a response‐based approach designed to limit cumulative alkylator exposure and reduce radiation volumes. Patients (Stage IIIB/IVB) received two cycles of ABVE‐PC (doxorubicin, bleomycin, vincristine, etoposide, prednisone, cyclophosphamide). Rapid early responders [RER, no positron emission tomography (PET) activity above mediastinal blood pool] were consolidated with 2 cycles of ABVE‐PC. Slow early responders (SER) received 2 cycles of ifosfamide/vinorelbine and 2 cycles of ABVE‐PC. Radiotherapy was administered to sites of initial bulk and/or SER. By intent‐to‐treat analysis, 4‐year second event‐free survival (EFS; freedom from second relapse or malignancy) was 91·9% [95% confidence interval (CI): 86·1–95·3%], below the projected baseline of 95% (P = 0·038). Five‐year first EFS and overall survival (OS) rates are 79·1% (95% CI: 71·5–84·8%) and 95% (95% CI: 88·8–97·8%). Eight of 11 SER patients with persistent PET positive lesions at the end of chemotherapy had clinical evidence of active disease (3 biopsy‐proven, 5 with progressive disease or later relapses). Although this response‐directed approach did not reach the ambitiously high pre‐specified target for second EFS, EFS and OS rates are comparable with results of recent trials despite the reduction in radiotherapy volumes from historical involved fields. Persistent PET at end of chemotherapy identifies a cohort at an especially high risk for relapse/early progression.
The dual‐functional memantine nitrate MN‐08 alleviates cerebral vasospasm and brain injury in experimental subarachnoid haemorrhage models
Authors: Luo Fangcheng , Wu Liangmiao , Zhang Zhixiang , Zhu Zeyu , Liu Zheng , Guo Baojian , Li Ning , Ju Jun , Zhou Qiang , Li Shupeng , Yang Xifei , Mak Shinghung , Han Yifan , Sun Yewei , Wang Yuqiang , Zhang Gaoxiao , Zhang Zaijun
Published: June 2019

Background and Purpose

Cerebral vasospasm and neuronal apoptosis after subarachnoid haemorrhage (SAH) is the major cause of morbidity and mortality in SAH patients. So far, single‐target agents have not prevented its occurrence. Memantine, a non‐competitive NMDA re3ceptor antagonist, is known to alleviate brain injury and vasospasm in experimental models of SAH. Impairment of NO availability also contributes to vasospasm. Recently, we designed and synthesized a memantine nitrate MN‐08, which has potent dual functions: neuroprotection and vasodilation. Here, we have tested the therapeutic effects of MN‐08 in animal models of SAH.

Experimental Approach

Binding to NMDA receptors (expressed in HEK293 cells), NO release and vasodilator effects of MN‐08 were assessed in vitro. Therapeutic effects of MN‐08 were investigated in vivo, using rat and rabbit SAH models.

Key Results

MN‐08 bound to the NMDA receptor, slowly releasing NO in vitro and in vivo. Consequently, MN‐08 relaxed the pre‐contracted middle cerebral artery ex vivo and increased blood flow velocity in small vessels of the mouse cerebral cortex. It did not, however, lower systemic blood pressure. In an endovascular perforation rat model of SAH, MN‐08 improved the neurological scores and ameliorated cerebral vasospasm. Moreover, MN‐08 also alleviated cerebral vasospasm in a cisterna magna single‐injection model in rabbits. MN‐08 attenuated neural cell apoptosis in both rat and rabbit models of SAH. Importantly, the therapeutic benefit of MN‐08 was greater than that of memantine.

Conclusion and Implications

MN‐08 has neuroprotective potential and can ameliorate vasospasm in experimental SAH models.
The influence of abutment macro‐design on clinical and radiographic peri‐implant tissue changes for guided, placed, and restored implants: A 1‐year randomized controlled trial
Authors: Koutouzis Theofilos , Adeinat Bashar , Ali Abdulaziz
Published: June 2019

Objectives

The aim was to evaluate the peri‐implant tissue levels over a 1‐year period for implants connected to either convex or concave final abutments at the time of implant placement.

Materials and Methods

In this randomized, double masked, controlled clinical study, twenty‐eight patients with one missing maxillary premolar were allocated to receive one single implant with abutment of either convex (CX Group) or concave (CV Group) emergence shape. A block randomization sequence was used to allocate treatments. Opaque sealed randomization envelopes were used for allocation concealment. All implants received final abutments and interim crowns at implant placement and permanent crowns following 3 months. Clinical and radiographic data were collected at the time of implant placement (IP), final prosthesis delivery (PR), and 12 months following implant placement (FU‐1).

Results

One patient from the CX Group (n = 13) dropped out from the study and for one patient from CV Group (n = 13), the implant failed to integrate. The mean change in peri‐implant buccal mucosa position (MP) from IP to FU‐1 was −0.76 ± 0.72 mm for CX Group and −0.69 ± 0.89 mm for CV Group (p = 0.8). The amount of bone remodeling above the implant platform from IP to FU‐1 was −0.66 ± 0.46 mm for the CX Group and −0.24 ± 0.25 mm for the CV Group (p = 0.007). Buccal bone thickness was significantly correlated with the amount of buccal MP change from IP to FU‐1 (r = 0.4, p = 0.038).

Conclusion

The study failed to support the hypothesis that abutment macro‐design has an effect on peri‐implant mucosa margin position changes over time.
Left ventricular adaptation following orthotopic heart transplantation in children: A speckle tracking echocardiographic imaging study
Authors: Sahewalla Rini , Sehgal Swati , Blake Jennifer , Aggarwal Sanjeev
Published: June 2019

Background

Evolution of left ventricle (LV) function in the pediatric OHT population has not been well described. Our hypothesis was that, in children following OHT without any rejection, there would be progressive normalization of LV size and function over 2 years.

Methods

LV function was evaluated using STE and conventional echo parameters at five time points in pediatric OHT patients without any rejection in the first 2 years following OHT and normal controls. LV global peak systolic longitudinal strain (LVPLS) and strain rate, LV peak systolic radial and circumferential strain (LVRS and LVCS), and strain rate were analyzed.

Results

We had twenty two patients with median age at OHT of 1.27 years ( IQR 0.19, 5.6 years). The LVPLS (mean ± SD) was abnormal in the post‐OHT echocardiograms at 1 week (−12.4 ± 3.7) and 1 month (−13.9 ± 3.7) and significantly improved at 6 months (−15.8 ± 3.2), 1 year (−15.7 ± 3.1), and 2 years (−17.8 ± 2.8). However, LVPLS remained below the normal group even at 2 years following OHT (−21.3 ± 1.76).

Conclusion

In children following OHT, despite the absence of rejection, strain values are significantly impaired in the initial months, improve progressively over the first 2 years but remain abnormal compared with healthy controls.
Visual Function Classification System for children with cerebral palsy: development and validation
Authors: Baranello Giovanni , Signorini Sabrina , Tinelli Francesca , Guzzetta Andrea , Pagliano Emanuela , Rossi Andrea , Foscan Maria , Tramacere Irene , Romeo Domenico M M , Ricci Daniela ,   On Behalf of the VFCS Study Group
Published: June 2019

Aim

To develop and validate the Visual Function Classification System (VFCS), which was created to classify how children with cerebral palsy (CP) use visual abilities in daily life.

Method

The process of development and validation of the VFCS involved four phases: (1) drafting of the five levels from the analysis of literature and clinical experience; (2) validation of constructs and revision of the levels for concept meaningfulness, using nominal group process; (3) refinement by international Delphi survey; and(4) assessment of interrater reliability among professionals and with caregivers, and of test–retest reliability.

Results

Five nominal groups involved 29 participants; 65 people completed the first round and 51 the second round of the Delphi survey. Construct validity was demonstrated within an expert group and external validation through several stakeholders, with the involvement of patients and families to ensure meaningfulness of the concept. Discussions continued until consensus was reached about the construct and content of the five levels. Participants in the reliability study included 29 professionals, 39 parents, and a total sample of 160 children with CP (mean age [SD] 6y 6mo [3y 4mo]; median 5y 7mo, range 1–19y). Absolute interrater agreement among professionals was 86% (weighted κ=0.88; 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.83–0.93). Test–retest reliability was high (weighted κ=0.97; 95% CI 0.95–0.99). Parent–professional interrater reliability on 39 children was moderate (weighted κ=0.51; 95% CI 0.39–0.63).

Interpretation

The VFCS has been appropriately constructed and provides a reliable system to classify visual abilities of children with CP both in clinical and in research settings.

What this paper adds

The Visual Function Classification System is a valid and reliable system.

It classifies visual abilities of children with cerebral palsy in clinical and research settings.

At a clinical level, it can be used to harmonize communication among professionals and identify patients’ strengths and weaknesses.

In research settings, it can be used to stratify patients, define natural history evolution, and interpret intervention studies.
Diagnosis and management of follicular lymphoma: A comprehensive review
Authors: Dada Reyad
Published: June 2019

Follicular Lymphoma (FL) is an indolent lymphoma and may have various clinical courses. Worldwide, FL is the second most common non‐Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) type after diffuse large B‐cell lymphoma. In this review article, the author is discussing relevant diagnostic tools, prognostic factors, and updated study results on the management of patients with newly diagnosed and relapsed/refractory FL. Controversies in the treatment, maintenance therapy, stem cell transplantation, and novel treatment approaches will be comprehensively discussed.
WONOEP appraisal: Network concept from an imaging perspective
Authors: Wykes Robert C. , Khoo Hui Ming , Caciagli Lorenzo , Blumenfeld Hal , Golshani Peyman , Kapur Jaideep , Stern John M. , Bernasconi Andrea , Dedeurwaerdere Stefanie , Bernasconi Neda
Published: June 2019

Neuroimaging techniques applied to a variety of organisms—from zebrafish, to rodents to humans—can offer valuable insights into neuronal network properties and their dysfunction in epilepsy. A wide range of imaging methods used to monitor neuronal circuits and networks during evoked seizures in animal models and advances in functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) applied to patients with epilepsy were discussed during the XIV Workshop on Neurobiology of Epilepsy (XIV WONOEP) organized in 2017 by the Neurobiology Commission of the International League Against Epilepsy (ILAE). We review the growing number of technological approaches developed, as well as the current state of knowledge gained from studies applying these advanced imaging approaches to epilepsy research.