bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Building from scratch? An “inner connectivity” framework for soft urban tourism development
Authors: Pasquinelli Cecilia
Published: November 2016

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to define a framework for urban tourism development, providing a rationale for tourism planners pursuing a competitive, sustainable and inclusive tourism destination model for urban settings.

Design/methodology/approach

A conceptual framework is proposed, discussed and exemplified in a specific geographical context.

Findings

The soft urban tourism development framework adopts a place-based approach to tourism destination building and suggests an integration method grounded in tourism urbanicity.

Research limitations/implications

The proposed tourism development model is based on theoretical premises. Empirical research should test the potential and pitfalls of this approach.

Practical implications

The proposed framework is a cognitive tool for strategy making in those cities that either need to radically re-envision city tourism or are attempting to build an urban tourism destination from scratch.

Originality/value

The paper contributes to the urban agenda in tourism studies. It proposes a framework emphasising the urban character of tourism and exploiting the multifunctionality of urban contexts for competitive niche tourism development.
Using the “recovery” and “rehabilitation” paradigms to support desistance of substance-involved offenders: exploration of dual and multi-focus interventions
Authors: Elison Sarah , Davies Glyn , Ward Jonathan , Weston Samantha , Dugdale Stephanie , Weekes John
Published: November 2016

Purpose

The links between substance use and offending are well evidenced in the literature, and increasingly, substance misuse recovery is being seen as a central component of the process of rehabilitation from offending, with substance use identified as a key criminogenic risk factor. In recent years, research has demonstrated the commonalities between recovery and rehabilitation, and the possible merits of providing interventions to substance-involved offenders that address both problematic sets of behaviours. The purpose of this paper is to provide an overview of the links between substance use and offending, and the burgeoning literature around the parallel processes of recovery and rehabilitation.

Design/methodology/approach

This is provided as a rationale for a new treatment approach for substance-involved offenders, Breaking Free Online (BFO), which has recently been provided as part of the “Gateways” throughcare pathfinder in a number of prisons in North-West England. The BFO programme contains specific behaviour change techniques that are generic enough to be applied to change a wide range of behaviours, and so is able to support substance-involved offenders to address their substance use and offending simultaneously.

Findings

This dual and multi-target intervention approach has the potential to address multiple, associated areas of need simultaneously, streamlining services and providing more holistic support for individuals, such as substance-involved offenders, who may have multiple and complex needs.

Practical implications

Given the links between substance use and offending, it may be beneficial to provide multi-focussed interventions that address both these behaviours simultaneously, in addition to other areas of multiple and complex needs. Specifically, digital technologies may provide an opportunity to widen access to such multi-focussed interventions, through computer-assisted therapy delivery modalities. Additionally, using digital technologies to deliver such interventions can provide opportunities for joined-up care by making interventions available across both prison and community settings, following offenders on their journey through the criminal justice system.

Originality/value

Recommendations are provided to other intervention developers who may wish to further contribute to widening access to such dual- and multi-focus programmes for substance-involved offenders, based on the experiences developing and evidencing the BFO programme.
Reducing public complaints and use of force: the Portland Police Bureau experience
Authors: Prenzler Tim , Cawthray Tyler , E. Porter Louise , P. Alpert Geoffrey
Published: November 2016

Purpose

From 2002 to 2014, the Portland Police Bureau reported large reductions in complaints against officers and use of force indicators. The purpose of this paper is to develop a case study to document these changes and explore possible influences.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper maps the changes in conduct indicators against the developing relationship between the Bureau and the Portland Independent Police Review Division, and changes in policies and procedures.

Findings

Public complaints reduced by 54.4 per cent, while the rate of specific allegations per officer fell by 70.1 per cent. Quarterly use of force incident reports were reduced by 65.4 per cent between 2008 and 2014. Annual average shootings decreased from a high of nine per year across 1997-2002 to just below four per year in 2009-2014. Fatal shootings also trended downward but remained two per year in the last three years on record. Reforms instituted during this period that may have influenced these trends include a more rigorous complaints process, an early intervention system (EIS), enhanced external and internal review mechanisms, policy changes and training initiatives.

Research limitations/implications

The researchers were unable to control for a range of additional variables that may have influenced the findings, including police deployments and changes in officer demographics.

Practical implications

The study provides support for strategies to improve police conduct including external oversight, diagnostic research, training focussed on de-escalation and minimal force, and complaint profiling and EISs.

Originality/value

There are very few studies available showing large long-term reductions in adverse police conduct indicators.
Interpersonal affect and host country national support of expatriates
Authors: Varma Arup , Budhwar Pawan , Katou Anastasia , Matthew Jossy
Published: November 2016

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine the role played by host country nationals’ (HCNs) collectivism and the interpersonal affect they develop toward expatriate colleagues, in determining the degree to which Chinese HCNs would be willing to offer role information and social support to expatriates from India and the USA.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors conducted a between-subjects simulation (n=402) with front-line, junior-level professionals in four global organizations operating in China, measuring their interpersonal affect toward a hypothetical expatriate colleague, and their willingness to offer role information and social support to the expatriate.

Findings

Results indicated the interpersonal affect felt by Chinese HCNs mediates the relationship between the collectivism levels of Chinese HCNs, and their willingness to offer role information and social support to expatriates.

Research limitations/implications

It should be acknowledged that the authors used hypothetical “paper-people” to test the hypotheses. Future studies should investigate the impact of collectivism and interpersonal affect on HCN willingness to offer role information and social support by examining HCNs’ attitudes toward real-life expatriate colleagues.

Originality/value

While empirical studies examining HCN willingness to offer role information and social support have begun to emerge in the expatriate literature, only a couple of studies have included interpersonal affect as a key determinant. Given that interpersonal affect is a key determinant of individuals’ reactions to others, but also a complex construct, the findings confirm the need for organizations to examine how this impacts performance and co-worker interactions in the workplace.
Embeddedness and social support of self-initiated and assigned expatriates
Authors: Agha-Alikhani Barbara
Published: November 2016

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to investigate expatriates social networks and their role in delivering social support resources. Self-initiated expatriates (SIEs) and assigned expatriates (AEs) are compared in order to investigate similarities and differences between both groups.

Design/methodology/approach

Methodologically a mixed-methods study is conducted, using qualitative interviews and social network analysis (SNA) to investigate the structure of the respondent’s social support ego networks; and to gain an understanding of the use of those networks as well as the network embeddedness of the individuals.

Findings

The findings show that there are differences in structural terms as well as in the composition of the networks. While the networks of self-initiated individuals tend to be bigger in size, AEs networks tend to be denser. In terms of the composition traditional expatriates do have more ties with colleagues that are in the same company while the self-initiated group is more closely embedded within their occupation, with ties to colleagues worldwide.

Originality/value

This is one of the first studies to address social network embeddedness and social support systems of globally mobile employees by using SNA. As a mixed-methods design as well as psychological and sociological theories are applied, a contribution to linking disciplines as well as methodologies is undertaken.
Expatriate support and success
Authors: van der Laken Paul , van Engen Marloes , van Veldhoven Marc , Paauwe Jaap
Published: November 2016

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to review empirical research on the relationship between organization-based social support and the success of international assignments (IAs).

Design/methodology/approach

Four search engines were used to obtain empirical studies relating organization-based social support to success criteria. Studies were compared based on type of theoretical foundation, criteria of success, source of social support and study design.

Findings

The reviewed studies draw on three theoretical paradigms – based on stress, social capital and relational exchange. The results demonstrate that expatriates receive social support from multiple organization-based sources and that these sources’ proximity to the expatriate influences the relationship between social support and success. Regarding geographical proximity, sources in the home and host countries fulfil different supportive functions and therefore stimulate different success criteria. Additionally, the success criteria stimulated by organizational support depend on the type of supportive practices offered. The impact of support from organizational members is further influenced by their hierarchical proximity to the expatriate, with supervisory support relating most strongly to success. In addition to proximity, characteristics of the expatriating employee and the assignment (e.g. expatriate motivation and assignment hardship) influence the value of social support. Finally, social support relates most strongly to expatriates’ satisfaction, commitment, and adjustment and these frequently mediate its effect on expatriates’ retention and performance.

Research limitations/implications

Although only organization-based sources were considered, this review demonstrates that a multidimensional perspective is warranted when examining the effects of social support during IAs.

Practical implications

This review provides insights into the ways organizations could and should assist (self-initiated) expatriates when aiming for specific outcomes.

Originality/value

This in-depth examination of social support in the work environment of expatriates combines several theoretical paradigms and investigates multiple criteria of success.
Conceptualizing terrorist financing in the age of uncertainty
Authors: Hamin Zaiton , Othman Rohana , Omar Normah , Selamat Hayyum Suleikha
Published: November 2016

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to conceptualize the concept of terrorism, terrorism financing, the relationship between money laundering and terrorism financing and the governance of terrorism financing.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper adopts a doctrinal, content analysis and secondary data, of which the Anti-Money Laundering and Anti-Terrorism Financing Act 2001 and the Penal Code are the primary sources. The secondary sources for this paper include articles in academic journals, books and online databases.

Findings

Several methods are involved in the commission of terrorism financing such as raising, moving and using of funds. The activities relating to terrorism financing under the Penal Code are broader than such activities. Despite the adherence by Malaysia to international policies established by the Financial Action Task Force, terrorism financing has remained a threat that must be addressed by the relevant authorities.

Practical implications

This paper could be a useful source of information for the practitioners, academicians, policymakers and students studying this particular area of crime.

Originality/value

This paper contributes to a discourse on terrorism financing in the Malaysian context.
Decision support for additive manufacturing deployment in remote or austere environments
Authors: Meisel Nicholas A. , Williams Christopher B. , Ellis Kimberly P. , Taylor Don
Published: November 2016

Purpose

Additive manufacturing (AM) can reduce the process supply chain and encourage manufacturing innovation in remote or austere environments by producing an array of replacement/spare parts from a single raw material source. The wide variety of AM technologies, materials, and potential use cases necessitates decision support that addresses the diverse considerations of deployable manufacturing. The paper aims to discuss these issues.

Design/methodology/approach

Semi-structured interviews with potential users are conducted in order to establish a general deployable AM framework. This framework then forms the basis for a decision support tool to help users determine appropriate machines and materials for their desired deployable context.

Findings

User constraints are separated into process, machine, part, material, environmental, and logistical categories to form a deployable AM framework. These inform a “tiered funnel” selection tool, where each stage requires increased user knowledge of AM and the deployable context. The tool can help users narrow a database of candidate machines and materials to those appropriate for their deployable context.

Research limitations/implications

Future work will focus on expanding the environments covered by the decision support tool and expanding the user needs pool to incorporate private sector users and users less familiar with AM processes.

Practical implications

The framework in this paper can influence the growth of existing deployable manufacturing endeavors (e.g. Rapid Equipping Force Expeditionary Lab – Mobile, Army’s Mobile Parts Hospital, etc.) and considerations for future deployable AM systems.

Originality/value

This work represents novel research to develop both a framework for deployable AM and a user-driven decision support tool to select a process and material for the deployable context.
Value of employee satisfaction during the financial crisis
Authors: Cao Cathy Xuying , Chen Chongyang
Published: November 2016

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine how employee satisfaction affects firm value around the financial crisis.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors use the 2008 financial crisis as exogenous shocks to firms to mitigate endogenous concern that employee satisfaction and firm value can be jointly determined. The authors compare firm value of two groups of firms: the firms on theFortunemagazine’s list of “100 Best Companies to Work For” and matched firms that are not on the list. The authors employ difference-in-difference approaches in the tests.

Findings

The authors find that when the crisis happens, the best companies experience larger decreases in firm value than comparable firms. In addition, such decreases in firm value only exist among the best companies with high financial flexibility. The authors also show that job satisfaction alone does not create firm value during the financial crisis; only when interacted with high financial flexibility, employee satisfaction leads to high firm value. Finally, the authors document that best companies do not have any advantage in the recovery of firm value after the crisis, regardless of their level of financial flexibility.

Research limitations/implications

There is considerable debate on whether job satisfaction leads to performance or performance leads to satisfaction (Luthans, 1998). The authors show that the impact of employee satisfaction on firm value changes over time. The authors also identify a crucial factor that impacts the value-creation of employee satisfaction: financial flexibility. The findings suggest that the ambiguous results documented in prior literature can be due to the different sample periods and the failure to identify the impact of financial flexibility in previous studies.

Practical implications

The findings provide helpful implications to the business community. The evidence suggests that to reap the benefits of employee satisfaction, companies need to manage their financial flexibility to buffer against potential negative shocks while having strong corporate governance mechanism to mitigate agency concerns. Moreover, the study provides an investment recommendation to socially responsible investment (SRI) and suggests that it is better off implementing dynamic SRI investment strategies according to economic condition.

Social implications

The evidence suggests that the economic value of employee satisfaction is related to firms’ financial flexibility and economic conditions.

Originality/value

The authors contribute to the literature by showing that the impact of employee satisfaction on firm value changes over time. The test design not only allows the authors to study the effect of employee satisfaction on firm value at a particular point in time, but also helps the authors examine the variation in the effect over economic cycles. This paper also contributes to the literature on SRI. The authors identify a crucial factor that impacts the value-creation of employee satisfaction: financial flexibility.
Does religion matter to dividend policy? Evidence from Buddhism and Taoism in China
Authors: Cao Chunfang , Jia Fansheng , Zhang Xiaowei , Chan Kam C.
Published: November 2016

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine the relation between Buddhism/Taoism and dividend payout decisions among Chinese listed firms during 2003-2013.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors include all Chinese A-share listed stocks in their sample during 2003-2013 and use a multiple regression method to conduct their analyses.

Findings

Their findings suggest that firms in regions with high influence of Buddhism and Taoism lean toward having high dividend payouts. The results are robust to a battery of alternative specifications in dividend payout, religiosity measures, research methods and dividend regulation regimes.

Originality/value

They show that the religions of Buddhism/Taoism play a role in determining dividend payout, complementing other informal institution studies of dividend policy. They complement the literature by providing insights into the impact of Buddhism and Taoism on corporate behaviors beyond immoral or unethical practices. They are able to relate specific doctrinal tenets of Buddhism and Taoism to corporate behavior rather than using only the general moral and ethical guidelines of religiosity.
Determining social media impact on the politics of developing countries using social network analytics
Authors: Udanor Collins , Aneke Stephen , Ogbuokiri Blessing Ogechi
Published: November 2016

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to use the Twitter Search Network of the Apache NodeXL data discovery tool to extract over 5,000 data from Twitter accounts that twitted, re-twitted or commented on the hashtag, #NigeriaDecides, to gain insight into the impact of the social media on the politics and administration of developing countries.

Design/methodology/approach

Several algorithms like the Fruchterman-Reingold algorithm, Harel-Koren Fast Multiscale algorithm and the Clauset-Newman-Moore algorithms are used to analyse the social media metrics like betweenness, closeness centralities, etc., and visualize the sociograms.

Findings

Results from a typical application of this tool, on the Nigeria general election of 2015, show the social media as the major influencer and the contribution of the social media data analytics in predicting trends that may influence developing economies.

Practical implications

With this type of work, stakeholders can make informed decisions based on predictions that can yield high degree of accuracy as this case. It is also important to stress that this work can be reproduced for any other part of the world, as it is not limited to developing countries or Nigeria in particular or it is limited to the field of politics.

Social implications

Increasingly, during the 2015 general election, citizens have taken over the blogosphere by writing, commenting and reporting about different issues from politics, society, human rights, disasters, contestants, attacks and other community-related issues. One of such instances is the #NigeriaDecides network on Twitter. The effect of these showed in the opinion polls organized by the various interest groups and media houses which were all in favour of GMB.

Originality/value

The case study the authors took on the Nigeria’s general election of 2015 further strengthens the fact that the developing countries have joined the social media race. The major contributions of this work are that policy makers, politicians, business managers, etc. can use the methods shown in this work to harness and gain insights from Big Data, like the social media data.
Providing open access to PhD theses: visibility and citation benefits
Authors: Ferreras-Fernández Tránsito , García-Peñalvo Francisco , Merlo-Vega José A. , Martín-Rodero Helena
Published: November 2016

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to report the benefits of scientific communication model of open access (OA) repositories to e-theses. Specifically, the study focusses on the benefits of accessibility, dissemination, visibility and impact of PhD e-theses deposited in repositories.

Design/methodology/approach

The study analysed a random sample of 125 PhD e-theses deposited in an OA repository, specifically in the institutional repository (IR) of the University of Salamanca (Gredos). It tracked the sample for analysing on one side the visits and downloads of the e-theses, whose data are obtained from the statistics module of the repository, and on the other side the data citation provided by Google Scholar Citation on these e-theses. To analyse the differences between the indicators (visits, downloads and citations) in different knowledge areas, the Kurskall-Wallis test has been used.

Findings

The results indicate that OA IRs become an advantageous channel of scientific communication to grey literature like dissertations and PhD theses, because it increases visibility and use and also produces a significant citation rate.

Originality/value

The paper uses metrics that are used in IR to measure the visibility and impact of a type of grey literature that is very difficult to track because it is unpublished. The dissemination of the grey literature through OA repositories makes it possible. The value of the work lies in the empirical evidence obtained from the analysed PhD e-theses of Gredos repository.
Building loyalty in e-commerce
Authors: Xiao Lin , Guo Zixiu , D’Ambra John , Fu Bin
Published: November 2016

Purpose

Although recent years have shown increasing popularity of e-commerce worldwide, there is still a lack of studies comprehensively exploring trust issue in e-commerce. Based on trust transfer theory and signaling theory, the purpose of this paper is to present an integrated research model to test the relationships between trust dimensions and e-loyalty, interactions among trust dimensions, as well as antecedents of different trust dimensions.

Design/methodology/approach

Data were collected through a web-based survey in Chinese markets and structural equation modeling with partial least squares was used to analyze the data.

Findings

The results identified that three trust dimensions all have significant impacts on e-loyalty, and relationships existed in different trust dimensions. Moreover, information quality and security protection are important factors determining institutional trust while store reputation is the most salient factor determining interpersonal trust.

Originality/value

This research contributes to the body of knowledge on trust by exploring the nature of trust with a multidimensional scale. Another theoretical contribution is the provision of a comprehensive understanding of the trust antecedents in e-commerce. Furthermore, this research benefits the companies doing e-businesses by allowing them to better understand how to improve consumers’ trust in the online environment and thus to retain and attract more loyal customers and succeed in online businesses.
Identifying the uses of mobile technology among Library and Information Science undergraduate students
Authors: Vassilakaki Evgenia , Moniarou-Papaconstantinou Valentini , Garoufallou Emmanouel
Published: November 2016

Purpose

Mobile technology has redefined the way people communicate and interact. In education, the number of academic institutions developing and offering mobile information services is growing steadily. The purpose of this paper is to identify the use of mobile technology by the Library Science and Information Systems undergraduate students in Greece.

Design/methodology/approach

A questionnaire was developed drawing from the relevant literature and sent to undergraduate students studying Library and Information Science during the 2014-2015 academic year.

Findings

It was found that students employed mobile phones for entertainment purposes whereas laptops and desktop computers for performing education-related tasks. Laptops and desktop computers were again mostly used to access library services, namely the OPAC, reference books, journals.

Research limitations/implications

Academic institutions need to offer services and adopt online learning platforms supported in mobile devices. Students from other disciplines and their acceptance of mobile technology should be explored.

Originality/value

This study identifies the specific mobile devices that students use to perform a variety of activities, educational and social, as well as the reasons for doing so.
Open data framework for sustainable assessment of project-based learning experiences
Authors: Traverso-Ribón Ignacio , Balderas-Alberico Antonio , Dodero Juan-Manuel , Ruiz-Rube Ivan , Palomo-Duarte Manuel
Published: November 2016

Purpose

In a project-based learning experience, the detailed monitoring of the activities in which team members participate can be useful to evaluate their work. However, the project activity produces a large amount of data that can be hardly assessed by a single project supervisor. This poses a scalability issue if the number of users or projects size increases. In this vein, the purpose of this paper is to make the assessment of online learning experiences more sustainable.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper describes a learning-oriented collaborative assessment method, supported by an open data framework. Also, an architecture for the extraction of different indicators to facilitate the assessment process is presented.

Findings

The assessment method and the open data framework were applied to a project-based course on web engineering. This experience has provided positive evidences because the grade measurement was backed up with assessment evidences and calculated with less effort.

Research limitations/implications

At the moment, results indicate that apparently there are no significant evidences against the sustainable evaluation practices for students’ summative evaluation. Nevertheless, when more data become available, a more statistically significant analysis could be made to determine the influence of the assessment practices in the final result of the evaluated skills.

Originality/value

In contrast to various existing proposals for e-assessment, the strategy focuses on assessing learning experiences in software development projects. Also, the approach is based on the reuse of information from external process supporting tools by integrating a number of metrics in a non-intrusive way.
Killer immunoglobulin‐like receptor repertoire analysis in a Caucasian Spanish cohort with inflammatory bowel disease
Authors: López‐Hernández Ruth , Campillo Jose A. , Legaz Isabel , Valdés Mariano , Salama Hortensia , Boix Francisco , Hernández‐Martínez AM , Eguia Jorge , González‐Martínez G , Moya‐Quiles Maria R. , Minguela Alfredo , García‐Alonso Ana , Carballo Fernando , Muro Manuel
Published: November 2016

Immunological molecules are implicated in inflammatory disorders, including inflammatory bowel disease (IBD; Crohn disease [CD] and ulcerative colitis [UC]). Killer cell immunoglobulin‐like receptors (KIRs) are also genetically variable proteins involved in immune function. They are expressed by NK cells and certain T lymphocytes, regulate specificity and function by interaction with HLA Class I molecules, may be either inhibitory or activating and are polymorphic both in terms of alleles and haplotype gene content. Genetic associations between activating KIRs and certain autoimmune and inflammatory diseases have been reported; however, a possible association between KIR and IBD remains unclear. The aim of this study was to determine the relationship between KIR repertoire and IBD pathologies in a Spanish cohort. KIR variability was analyzed using PCR–sequence specific oligonucleotide probes (SSOP). Inhibitory KIR2DL5 was found more frequently in UC and IBD patient groups than in healthy controls (P = 0.028 and P = 0.01, respectively), as was activating KIR2DS1 (P = 0.02, Pc > 0.05, UC vs. Controls; P = 0.001, Pc = 0.01, IBD vs Controls; P = 0.01, Pc > 0.05, Controls vs CR), KIR2DS5 (P = 0.0028, Pc = 0.04, Controls vs UC; P = 0.0001, Pc = 0.0017, Controls vs IBD; P = 0.01, Pc > 0.05, Controls vs CD) and KIR3DS1 (P = 0.012, Pc > 0.05, Controls vs IBD). Our data suggest that imbalance between activating and inhibitory KIR may partially explain the different pathogeneses of these IBDs and that there is a hypothetical role for the telomeric B region (which contains both KIR2DS5 and KIR2DS1) in these diseases.
Seasonal shifts in sex ratios are mediated by maternal effects and fluctuating incubation temperatures
Authors: Carter Amanda W. , Bowden Rachel M. , Paitz Ryan T.
Published: November 2016

Sex‐specific maternal effects can be adaptive sources of phenotypic plasticity. Reptiles with temperature‐dependent sex determination (TSD) are a powerful system to investigate such maternal effects because offspring phenotype, including sex, can be sensitive to maternal influences such as oestrogens and incubation temperatures.

In red‐eared slider turtles (Trachemys scripta), concentrations of maternally derived oestrogens and incubation temperatures increase across the nesting season; we wanted to determine if sex ratios shift in a seasonally concordant manner, creating the potential for sex‐specific maternal effects, and to define the sex ratio reaction norms under fluctuating temperatures across the nesting season.

Eggs from early and late season clutches were incubated under a range of thermally fluctuating temperatures, maternally derived oestradiol concentrations were quantified via radioimmunoassay, and hatchling sex was identified. We found that late‐season eggs had higher maternal oestrogen concentrations and were more likely to produce female hatchlings. The sex ratio reaction norm curves systematically varied with season, such that with even a slight increase in temperature (0·5 °C), late‐season eggs produced up to 49% more females than early‐season eggs.

We found a seasonal shift in sex ratios which creates the potential for sex‐specific phenotypic matches across the nesting season driven by maternal effects. We also describe, for the first time, systematic variation in the sex ratio reaction norm curve within a single population in a species with TSD.

A lay summary is available for this article.
Out‐of‐plane effects in 2D borehole‐to‐surface resistivity tomography and applications in mineral exploration
Authors: Zhang Gang , Zhang Gui‐Bin , Jia Zheng‐yuan , Lü Qing‐Tian
Published: November 2016

In this paper, we discuss the effects of anomalous out‐of‐plane bodies in two‐dimensional (2D) borehole‐to‐surface electrical resistivity tomography with numerical resistivity modelling and synthetic inversion tests. The results of the two groups of synthetic resistivity model tests illustrate that anomalous bodies out of the plane of interest have an effect on two‐dimensional inversion and that the degree of influence of out‐of‐plane body on inverted images varies. The different influences are derived from two cases. One case is different resistivity models with the same electrode array, and the other case is the same resistivity model with different electrode arrays. Qualitative interpretation based on the inversion tests shows that we cannot find a reasonable electrode array to determine the best inverse solution and reveal the subsurface resistivity distribution for all types of geoelectrical models. Because of the three‐dimensional effect arising from neighbouring anomalous bodies, the qualitative interpretation of inverted images from the two‐dimensional inversion of electrical resistivity tomography data without prior information can be misleading. Two‐dimensional inversion with drilling data can decrease the three‐dimensional effect. We employed two‐ and three‐dimensional borehole‐to‐surface electrical resistivity tomography methods with a pole–pole array and a bipole–bipole array for mineral exploration at Abag Banner and Hexigten Banner in Inner Mongolia, China. Different inverse schemes were carried out for different cases. The subsurface resistivity distribution obtained from the two‐dimensional inversion of the field electrical resistivity tomography data with sufficient prior information, such as drilling data and other non‐electrical data, can better describe the actual geological situation. When there is not enough prior information to carry out constrained two‐dimensional inversion, the three‐dimensional electrical resistivity tomography survey is the better choice.
The Politics of the Pew: Faith, Liberty, and Authority in a Sydney Church in 1828
Authors: Allen Matthew
Published: November 2016

This article examines the political implications of the dispute between E. S. Hall and Archdeacon Scott over a pew in St James’ Church in the late 1820s. Beyond the legal questions it raised about the established status of the Church of England in New South Wales, Hall's public protest, conducted every Sunday during the largest regular social gathering in Sydney, was a self‐conscious performance of his wider critique of colonial authority. This episode reveals the symbolic importance of church spaces and the role of religious ideas about authority and freedom in colonial political debate.
Asset Growth and Stock Performance: Evidence from REITs
Authors: Ling David C. , Ooi Joseph T.L. , Xu Ruoran
Published: November 2016

In this article, we examine the impact of asset growth rates on the future stock performance of 308 publicly traded real estate investment trusts (REITs). We observe that fast‐growing REITs tend to underperform slow growing REITs. However, we find evidence that the growth effect is significantly less negative for REITs selling at a premium to net asset value. In addition, we observe the asset growth effect only in the subsample of REITs that engages in equity issuance over the next 12 months. The combined evidence suggests contemporaneous equity dilution, which has not been considered in previous studies, may provide an explanation for the underperformance of fast‐growing firms.
Identifying homomorphic sex chromosomes from wild‐caught adults with limited genomic resources
Authors: Brelsford Alan , Lavanchy Guillaume , Sermier Roberto , Rausch Anna , Perrin Nicolas
Published: November 2016

We demonstrate a genotyping‐by‐sequencing approach to identify homomorphic sex chromosomes and their homolog in a distantly related reference genome, based on noninvasive sampling of wild‐caught individuals, in the moor frog Rana arvalis. Double‐digest RADseq libraries were generated using buccal swabs from 30 males and 21 females from the same population. Search for sex‐limited markers from the unfiltered data set (411 446 RAD tags) was more successful than searches from a filtered data set (33 073 RAD tags) for markers showing sex differences in heterozygosity or in allele frequencies. Altogether, we obtained 292 putatively sex‐linked RAD loci, 98% of which point to male heterogamety. We could map 15 of them to the Xenopus tropicalis genome, all but one on chromosome pair 1, which seems regularly co‐opted for sex determination among amphibians. The most efficient mapping strategy was a three‐step hierarchical approach, where R. arvalis reads were first mapped to a low‐coverage genome of Rana temporaria (17 My divergence), then the R. temporaria scaffolds to the Nanorana parkeri genome (90 My divergence), and finally the N. parkeri scaffolds to the X. tropicalis genome (210 My). We validated our conclusions with PCR primers amplifying part of Dmrt1, a candidate sex determination gene mapping to chromosome 1: a sex‐diagnostic allele was present in all 30 males but in none of the 21 females. Our approach is likely to be productive in many situations where biological samples and/or genomic resources are limited.
Compliance of post‐radiation therapy head and neck cancer patients with caries preventive protocols
Authors: Frydrych AM , Slack‐Smith LM , Parsons R
Published: November 2016

Background

Caries prevention is paramount in safeguarding the life quality of head and neck cancer patients and is dependent on patient compliance with caries preventive protocols. The purpose of this study was to examine this compliance.

Methods

All records of patients referred to one public oral medicine clinic servicing a head and neck oncology unit of one major Western Australian hospital, between January 2005 and December 2011, were examined. Data extracted included patient and cancer characteristics and compliance with dietary advice, dental care, oral hygiene instruction and fluoride use over a follow‐up period of at least 12 months. Compliance was assessed against various oral health outcomes and patient characteristics.

Results

Of the 116 participants, 75.9% complied with all caries preventive measures over a mean follow‐up period of 45 months. Non‐compliance with regular dental attendance (P = 0.004), oral hygiene instruction (P = 0.009), dietary advice (P = 0.034) and daily fluoride use (P = 0.018) were associated with the development of dental caries post‐treatment. The presence of dental caries at the time of cancer diagnosis was predictive of poorer compliance.

Conclusions

High compliance with caries preventive measures is attainable in the head and neck cancer patient group. Factors other than fluoride use seem important in caries prevention.
Effect of ketoconazole, a strong CYP3A inhibitor, on the pharmacokinetics of venetoclax, a BCL‐2 inhibitor, in patients with non‐Hodgkin lymphoma
Authors: Agarwal Suresh K. , Salem Ahmed Hamed , Danilov Alexey V. , Hu Beibei , Puvvada Soham , Gutierrez Martin , Chien David , Lewis Lionel D. , Wong Shekman L.
Published: November 2016

Aims

To examine the effect of a strong cytochrome P450 (CYP) 3A inhibitor, ketoconazole, on the pharmacokinetics, safety and tolerability of venetoclax.

Methods

Twelve patients with non‐Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) were enrolled in this Phase 1, open‐label, fixed‐sequence study. Patients received a single 50 mg dose of venetoclax orally on Day 1 and Day 8, and a 400 mg once daily dose of ketoconazole on Days 5–11. Blood samples were collected predose and up to 96 h after each venetoclax dose on Day 1 and Day 8.

Results

Eleven patients had evaluable pharmacokinetic data and were therefore included in the statistical analyses. Compared to administration of a single 50 mg dose of venetoclax alone, ketoconazole increased the venetoclax mean maximum observed plasma concentration (Cmax) and area under the plasma concentration–time curve from time 0 to infinity (AUC∞) by 2.3‐fold (90% confidence interval [CI]: 2.0–2.7) and 6.4‐fold (90% CI: 4.5–9.2; range: 2‐ to 12‐fold), respectively.

Conclusions

Coadministration of venetoclax with multiple doses of ketoconazole resulted in a significant increase of venetoclax exposures, strongly suggesting that CYP3A plays a major role in elimination of venetoclax in patients. These results suggest the need to avoid concomitant use with strong and moderate inhibitors or inducers of CYP3A during the venetoclax ramp‐up phase in chronic lymphocytic leukaemia (CLL) patients. For patients who have completed the ramp‐up phase, a modification in venetoclax dose for use with strong and moderate inhibitors or inducers of CYP3A is recommended.
Statistical reporting in the BJH: some dos and don'ts
Authors: Hills Robert K.
Published: November 2016

Statistics provides an important tool to enable large amounts of data from an experiment to be summarised and conclusions drawn. To be informative statistics need to serve the experimenter appropriately and give clear and understandable answers. It is important that the reader can clearly understand the methodology used, and that that methodology is appropriate to the situation. We present here some issues to be considered when writing for publication in the British Journal of Haematology (BJH).
Deficits in oral health behavior and oral health status in patients after lung transplantation
Authors: Marcinkowski Anna , Ziebolz Dirk , Kleibrink Bjoern E. , Weinreich Gerhard , Kamler Markus , Teschler Helmut , Sommerwerck Urte
Published: November 2016

Background

Dental status has been implicated in several systemic inflammatory diseases and is a potential focus for systemic infections. Therefore, most lung‐transplant centers have recommendations regarding pre‐transplant dental care and follow‐up, but there are no official clinical guidelines. To date there is little information on oral health status in lung transplant (LTx) recipients. The aim of this study was to systematically assess oral health status in LTx recipients.

Objectives

The aim of this study was to assess oral health status, including periodontal disease, oral health behavior, and awareness of the need for good oral health after LTx.

Methods

LTx recipients were recruited during follow‐up outpatient visits at a university clinic transplant unit. Oral health status was quantified using the count of Decayed, Missing, and Filled Teeth (DMF‐T) and the grade of periodontal disease was measured by probing depth. Patients' oral health behavior was assessed using a questionnaire.

Results

Seventy‐three patients were included at 5.8 ± 3.4 years after lung transplantation. The mean DMF‐T was 21.9 ± 5.5. Patients with cystic fibrosis as the indication for transplantation had a significantly lower DMF‐T than patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease as the transplant indication. Of the 66 patients with teeth, 97% had moderate or severe periodontal disease. The prevalence of moderate or severe periodontal disease was significantly higher in LTx recipients (mean age 55.9 years) compared with older individuals (age 65‐74 years) from the German general population (P < .005).

Conclusions

This single center study shows deficits in oral health and oral health behavior in patients after LTx. There is a strong need for interdisciplinary collaboration and clinical guidelines to foster better oral health education of the transplant recipient and better oral health.
Tracheobronchial foreign body removal in infants who had very small airways: A prospective clinical trial
Authors: Woo Seung Hoon , Park Jung Je , Kwon Minsu , Ryu Jun Sun , Kim Jin Pyeong
Published: November 2016

Background and Aims

Tracheobronchial foreign body aspiration is a life‐threatening emergency. Using a rigid bronchoscope with optical forceps is the most effective method for foreign body removal. However, occasionally for some infants these instruments could not be used, as they may be too large for their small airways. Here, they present the apnea technique with only an optical forceps for foreign body removal in infants with very small airways.

Methods

Foreign bodies were removed using only an optical forceps for infants who had very small diameter airways. After general anesthesia, the suspension laryngoscope was set just above the vocal cord, and the inserted ventilation tube was pulled out, followed by a new one being inserted through the suspension laryngoscope and placed at the trachea. With the oxygen saturation at 100%, we pulled out the ventilation tube and inserted the optical forceps with an endoscope. After that, the foreign body was removed by the optical forceps.

Results

The foreign body removal using only an optical forceps is technically feasible for an infant. The mean operation time was 40.33 ± 8.06 min, and the hospital stay was 2.25 ± 0.62 days. When we pulled out the ventilation tube, the O2 saturation mean time (apnea time) was 106.25 ± 14.30 sec. In 12 infants, the foreign body was removed completely without a need for a second procedure.

Conclusions

The apnea technique for the removal of foreign body from the airway, using only an optical forceps with an endoscope, is useful in infants who had very small airways.
An exponential change decline function to estimate soil organic carbon stocks and their changes from topsoil measurements
Authors: Ottoy S. , Elsen A. , Van De Vreken P. , Gobin A. , Merckx R. , Hermy M. , Van Orshoven J.
Published: November 2016

Soil organic carbon (SOC) stocks and their changes are important indicators in ecosystem service assessments. Routine soil inventories are often limited to the topsoil, even though a non‐negligible fraction of SOC is known to be stored in deeper horizons. To assess SOC stocks and their changes in the upper metre of the soil profile, vertical extrapolation of topsoil SOC measurements is necessary. The commonly used exponential decline function is not valid, however, for soil types in which subsurface horizons with a larger SOC content (‘anomalies’) occur. Here, we propose an exponential change decline function to account for these profile anomalies. Therefore, we applied the exponential decline function to the difference between the recent (2008–11) and historical (1947–74) SOC contents in the topsoil and compared the results with those derived by the original method. We applied the exponential change decline function to 54 041 agricultural land units (7159 km2) in Flanders (Belgium) and were able to model specific profile characteristics such as spodic horizons, plaggic topsoil and peat substrates. For these particular land units, the exponential decline function underestimated SOC stocks; therefore, it compromised an in‐depth assessment of changes in SOC stocks over time. This study shows that the exponential change decline function is promising for certain soil types and will contribute to the more accurate assessment of ecosystem service indicators. In addition, we emphasize the need for more detailed descriptions of subsoil reference profiles, sampled by pedogenetic horizon rather than by fixed depth interval to optimize calibration of the decline functions.

Highlights

When recent soil sampling is limited to the topsoil, extrapolation is needed to assess subsoil SOC stocks.

We modified the exponential decline function to model SOC‐rich subsurface horizons with the integration of legacy data.

An appropriate extrapolation approach is essential for in‐depth SOC assessments.

Detailed subsoil data are needed to optimize the calibration of the decline functions.