bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Direct vs indirect e-government adoption: an exploratory study
Authors: Kumar Rajiv , Sachan Amit , Mukherjee Arindam
Published: January 2018

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to investigate the factors that influence direct and indirect adoption of e-government services in India.

Design/methodology/approach

A conceptual model has been proposed by integrating the factors influencing adoption of e-government services from extant literature. A quantitative technique is used for the purpose of the study.

Findings

The study classifies e-government adoption in two types: direct adoption and indirect adoption. The study has found that there is some difference between the factors influencing direct and indirect e-government adoption. Perceived awareness, perceived usefulness, trust in internet, trust in government and social influence are found to be positively correlated to direct and indirect e-government adoption. Availability of resources, computer self-efficacy, perceived ease-of-use, perceived compatibility, multilingual option and voluntariness are positively correlated to direct e-government adoption and negatively correlated to indirect e-government adoption. Perceived image is found to be significant for direct e-government adoption but non-significant for indirect adoption. Trust in intermediary is found to be significant only for indirect e-government adoption.

Research limitations/implications

The sample size of 382 may not be a proper representation of a country like India, which has huge diversity and is densely populated. The study has been conducted in India, which is a developing country. The result might not be significant for developed countries.

Practical implications

The findings of this study provide useful insights into the decision-making process of e-government users in India and similar emerging economies. These findings can be important for government officials tasked with providing e-governance services.

Originality/value

Despite the digital divide, how the government is expecting its citizens to access e-government services and derive benefits and how the needy will be able to cope with the mandatory e-government services is an interesting topic to study. This leads to a new concept of indirect adoption.
Users’ reactions captured by means of an EEG headset on viewing the presentation of sustainable designs using verbal narrative
Authors: Royo Marta , Chulvi Vicente , Mulet Elena , Galán Julia
Published: January 2018

Purpose

The aim of this paper is to determine whether consumers accept new arguments for choosing a product that adapts to future needs. It is also seeking to investigate whether the design of products and their ensuing advertising and promotion through a sustainable approach by means of verbal narrative ads can generate a more positive emotional response in the future users of the product than with the application of visual narrative ads.

Design/methodology/approach

To this end, an experiment was conducted consisting of consumers, with and without experience with the product, watching a promotional video based on verbal narrative, created using the new usage scenarios approach, in which the advantages of a sustainable product are shown. The neuronal response of the possible users was then measured by means of the electroencephalogram (EEG) headset. To be able to establish a comparison, the same response was also measured in the same consumers when they viewed a commercial video based on visual narrative about a product with similar characteristics.

Findings

The results show, among other conclusions, that viewing the verbal narrative ad first triggers higher emotional values of excitement, both in the short and the long term, as well as frustration. It is also observed that having no experience with the product causes higher meditation values.

Practical implications

This research pretends to discern the emotional effect of watching a green advertisement in the consumers. This can be useful to enterprises both to design their products to orientate them to consumer concerns, and to design the advertisements to emotionally link consumers with the product.

Originality/value

This can be useful to enterprises both to design their products in such a way as to orientate them towards consumer concerns, and to design advertisements in such a way as to link consumers emotionally with the product.
A possible metric for assessing self-efficacy toward postulated futures
Authors: Park Seongwon
Published: January 2018

Purpose

This paper raises a question of how to assess the effectiveness of foresight activity. Among the various assessments of foresight activity, the author explores how to develop and assess an individual’s abilities in relation to foresight activity. More specifically, the author suggests a possible metric for assessing how foresight activity can help individuals cultivate self-efficacy toward postulated futures. This paper aims to propose that researchers and practitioners working in foresight can leverage the concept of self-efficacy toward futures to develop a method of evaluating foresight activities on an individual level.

Design/methodology/approach

To assess the concept of self-efficacy toward futures, this research identifies the factors that could create a possible metric of self-efficacy with respect to various futures on an individual level. For this study, citizens living in Korea participated in a futures studies program, where the author measured and analyzed to what extent participatory foresight activities could help these individuals perceive their own self-efficacy toward futures. The changes in the participants’ attitudes were measured by conducting the survey before and after the program.

Findings

Based on the literature review and a survey, the author crafted a potential self-efficacy in relation to a scale of futures, which consists of four subscales: an ability to shape new meanings, an ability to challenge the status quo, an ability to make a decision and put it into action and an ability to learn something new by cooperating with others. These abilities are believed to be relevant elements to prepare for, adapt to and evolve with social changes. This paper also uses the possible metric to assess the effectiveness of foresight activity in Korea and argues that foresight activity helps Korean individuals perceive self-efficacy toward postulated futures.

Originality/value

Researchers attempted to answer the question of what foresight activities are generally useful to laypersons. The author proposes that perceiving self-efficacy toward futures is one of the efficacies that foresight pursues. The author endeavors to create a metric to assess the effectiveness of foresight attempts to identify which capabilities can be developed through participation in foresight activities.
Socio-economic inequalities in health services utilization: a cross-sectional study
Authors: Ranjbar Ezzatabadi Mohammad , Khosravi Ameneh , Bahrami Mohammad Amin , Rafiei Sima
Published: January 2018

Purpose

Developing country workers mainly face important challenges when examining equality in health services utilization among the population and identifying influential factors. The purpose of this paper us to: understand health service use among households with different socio-economic status in Isfahan province; and to investigate probable inequality determinants in service utilization.

Design/methodology/approach

Almost 1,040 households living in Isfahan province participated in this cross-sectional study in 2013. Data were collected by a questionnaire with three sections: demographic characteristics; socio-economic status; and health services utilization. The concentration index was applied to measure inequality. Analysts used STATA 11.

Findings

Economic status, educational level, insurance coverage and household gender were the most influential factors on health services utilization. Those with a high socio-economic level were more likely to demand and use such services; although self-medication patterns showed an opposite trend.

Practical implications

Female-headed families face with more difficulties in access to basic human needs including health. Supportive policies are needed to meet their demands.

Originality/value

The authors used principle component analysis to assess households’ economic situation, which reduced the variables into a single index.
Patient-perceived hospital service quality: an empirical assessment
Authors: Pai Yogesh P. , Chary Satyanarayana T. , Pai Rashmi Yogesh
Published: January 2018

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to appraise Pai and Chary’s (2016) conceptual framework for measuring patient-perceived hospital service quality (HSQ).

Design/methodology/approach

A structured questionnaire was used to obtain data from teaching, public and corporate hospital patients. Several tests were conducted to assess the instrument’s reliability and validity. Pai and Chary’s (2016) nine dimensions for measuring HSQ were examined in this paper.

Findings

The tests confirm that Pai and Chary’s (2016) conceptual framework is reliable and valid. The study also establishes that the nine dimensions measure HSQ.

Practical implications

The framework empowers managers to assess service quality in any hospital settings, corporate, public and teaching, using an approach that is superior to the existing HSQ scales.

Originality/value

This paper helps researchers and practitioners to assess HSQ from patient perspectives in any hospital setting.
Participatory design of healthcare technology with children
Authors: Sims Tara
Published: January 2018

Purpose

There are many frameworks and methods for involving children in design research. Human-Computer Interaction provides rich methods for involving children when designing technologies. The paper aims to discuss these issues.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper examines various approaches to involving children in design, considering whether users view children as study objects or active participants.

Findings

The BRIDGE method is a sociocultural approach to product design that views children as active participants, enabling them to contribute to the design process as competent and resourceful partners. An example is provided, in which BRIDGE was successfully applied to developing upper limb prostheses with children.

Originality/value

Approaching design in this way can provide children with opportunities to develop social, academic and design skills and to develop autonomy.
Community college minority female administrators as mentors of minority female students
Authors: Fonts Maureen
Published: January 2018

Purpose

Minority female students are increasingly faced with issues such as financial instability, work-family imbalance, and few growth opportunities in their careers. Within the context of community colleges, the presence of minority female administrators may serve as a venue for the empowerment and attainment of academic and professional goals for minority female students through administrators’ mentoring practices. The purpose of this paper is to explore the lived experience of community college minority female administrators in their role as informal mentors to community college minority female students.

Design/methodology/approach

The author used a qualitative phenomenological approach to explore community college minority female administrators’ experiences as mentors of female minority students. Mullen’s (2009) alternative mentoring model guided the study as well as a feminist lens. The purposive sample included six minority female administrators from two Florida community colleges, with individual interviews based on 18 open-ended questions. Data were analyzed with Atlas.ti™ qualitative software.

Findings

The findings uncovered four common themes and seven subthemes regarding the experience of informal mentoring as a minority female administrator: facilitating empowerment with two subthemes – modeling and coaching; administrator-student relationship with three subthemes – encouragement, life experiences, and past mentors; personal growth; and formalized mentoring with two subthemes – create a support system and access to information.

Research limitations/implications

In any study, phenomenological or otherwise, the researcher’s biases may cloud the data analysis process, and the researcher may code the data incorrectly or leave out crucial information during the transcription of the interview. It was essential for the author to understand the concept of epochè to bracket the author’s own experiences as a minority female (Bloomberg and Volpe, 2012). The purposeful sample was small and only focused on one region in the US, and the study’s findings may not be transferable to other contexts.

Originality/value

Minority female administrators’ experiences mentoring minority female students have not been comprehensively explored in the scholarly realm; hence, their mentoring journey is unknown. The study sought to shatter that silence and create a dialogue that will hopefully continue in the field of mentoring.
Introducing multivariate Markov modeling within QFD to anticipate future customer preferences in product design
Authors: Gotzamani Katerina , Georgiou Andreas , Andronikidis Andreas , Kamvysi Konstantina
Published: January 2018

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to provide an enhanced version of quality function deployment (QFD) that captures customers’ present and future preferences, accurately prioritizes product specifications and eventually translates them into desirable quality products. Under rapidly changing environments, customer requirements and preferences are constantly changing and evolving, rendering essential the realization of the dynamic role of the “Voice of the Customer (VoC)” in the design and development of products.

Design/methodology/approach

The proposed methodological framework incorporates a Multivariate Markov Chain (MMC) model to describe the pattern of changes in customer preferences over time, the Fuzzy AHP method to accommodate the uncertainty and subjectivity of the “VoC” and the LP-GW-AHP to discover the most important product specifications in order to structure a robust QFD method. This enhanced QFD framework (MMC-QFD-LP-GW-Fuzzy AHP) takes into consideration the dynamic nature of the “VoC” captures the actual customers’ preferences (WHATs) and interprets them into design decisions (HOWs).

Findings

The integration of MMC models into the QFD helps to handle the sequences of customers’ preferences as categorical data sequences and to consider the multiple interdependencies among them.

Originality/value

In this study, a MMC model is introduced for the first time within QFD, in an effort to extend the concept of listening to further anticipating to customer wants. Gaining a deeper understanding of current and future customers’ preferences could help organizations to design products and plan strategies that more effectively and efficiently satisfy them.
The US battle against brand marketing: circa 1930-1980
Authors: Petty Ross D.
Published: January 2018

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine the debate about brand marketing that occurred as part of the 1930s consumer movement and continued after the Second World War in academic and regulatory circles.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper presents an historical account of the anti-brand marketing movement using a qualitative approach. It examines both primary and secondary historical sources as well as legal statutes, regulatory agency actions, judicial cases and newspaper and trade journal stories.

Findings

In response to the rise of brand marketing in the latter 1800s and early 1900s, the USA experienced an anti-brand marketing movement that lasted half a century. The first stage was public as part of the consumer movement but was overshadowed by the product safety and truth-in-advertising concerns. The consumer movement stalled when the USA entered the Second World War, but brand marketing continued to raise questions during the war as the US government attempted to regulate the provisions of goods during the war. After the war, the public accepted brand marketing. Continuing anti-brand marketing criticism was largely confined to academic writings and regulatory activities. Ultimately, many of the stage-two challenges to brand marketing went nowhere, but a few led to regulations that continue today.

Originality/value

This paper is the first to recognize a two-stage anti-brand marketing movement in the USA from 1929 to 1980 that has left a small but significant modern-day regulatory legacy.
For the balance of stakeholders’ power and responsibility
Authors: Lin Xue , Ho Christabel Man-Fong , Shen Geoffrey Qiping
Published: January 2018

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to describe the development of a collaborative framework for balancing stakeholder power and social responsibilities in construction projects. To resolve the problems of unclear responsibility that is common in construction projects, the framework is designed to help stakeholders identify their roles in various issues and to facilitate collaborative endeavours by elucidating their responsibilities.

Design/methodology/approach

The framework is designed using a scientific approach based on a problem-solution paradigm. It is developed as a model that would provide strategies for responding to various issues and that would also balance stakeholder responsibilities with power. A case study is conducted to validate the framework in an ongoing real estate project in China.

Findings

The effectiveness of the framework is validated from the case study, which found that the engagement of stakeholders is improved by adopting the framework. It is also found that use of the framework led to enhancement of communication and trust, and better collaboration through a collective form of responsibility.

Originality/value

The study provides valuable insights into stakeholder collaboration on social responsibility issues in construction projects. The dynamic nature of stakeholders is addressed, and an easy-to-follow framework is offered for use in construction projects.
Reversing the business rationale for environmental commitment in banking
Authors: Laguir Issam , Marais Magalie , El Baz Jamal , Stekelorum Rebecca
Published: January 2018

Purpose

The banking industry plays a key role in society because of its role as a financial intermediary. Today’s banks are being asked to endorse environmental objectives, and recent studies have shown that large banks with strong financial performance are more likely to engage in environmental actions. Thus, the purpose of this paper is to investigate the link between corporate financial performance (CFP) and corporate environmental performance (CEP).

Design/methodology/approach

The authors focused on the French banking sector, using the data from a sample consisting of 191 observations covering 68 banks from 2008 to 2011. The environmental scores from the Vigeo database were the proxy measures for the extent to which banks engage in environmental actions. A panel regression model was employed for this study.

Findings

The findings show that high CFP was associated with high CEP. The findings also reveal that CFP and CEP may strengthen each other, suggesting a complex bidirectional relationship.

Originality/value

While many studies have examined whether it pays to be green, thus focusing on the causal relationship from CEP to CFP, few have considered that the causal direction might be reversed, from CFP to CEP. Furthermore, to the best of the authors’ knowledge, this paper is the first to analyze the CFP-CEP relationship using French bank data.
Voluntary corporate social responsibility disclosure and religion
Authors: Griffin Paul A. , Sun Estelle Y.
Published: January 2018

Purpose

This study examines the relation between voluntary corporate social responsibility (CSR) disclosure and the local religious norms of firms’ stakeholders. Little is known about how these local norms (measured at the county level) affect firms’ disclosure practices and firm value, especially voluntary disclosure on climate change and environmental and social responsibility.

Design/methodology/approach

Poisson regression models test for a significant relation between firms’ voluntary CSR disclosure intensity and the local religious norms of firms’ stakeholders. Also, an event study tests whether the local religious norms affect investment returns. The data analyzed are extracted from the archive of CSRwire, a prominent news organization that distributes CSR news to investors and the public worldwide.

Findings

The study finds that firms in high adherence (high churchgoer) locations disclose CSR activities less frequently, and firms in high affiliation (a high proportion of non-evangelical Christian churchgoers) locations disclose CSR activities more frequently. The study also finds that managers make firm-value-increasing CSR disclosure decisions that cater to the religious and social norms of the local community.

Practical implications

The results imply that managers self-identify with the local religious norms of stakeholders and appropriately disclose less about CSR activities when religious adherence is high and when religious affiliation (the ratio of non-evangelicals to evangelical Christians) is low. The authors find this noteworthy because religious bodies often call for greater CSR involvement and disclosure. Yet, at the firm level, it would appear that local community religious norms also prevail, as it is shown that they significantly explain firms’ CSR disclosure behavior, implying that managers cater to local religious norms in their disclosure decisions.

Social implications

The findings suggest that managers vary the timing and intensity of voluntary CSR disclosure consistent with stakeholders’ local religious and social norms and that it would be costly and inefficient if the firms were to expand CSR disclosure without considering the religious norms of their local community.

Originality value

This is the first large-sample study to show that local religious norms affect CSR disclosure behavior. The study makes use of a unique and novel data set obtained exclusively from CSRwire.
Utility of neutralization test for laboratory diagnosis of suspected mumps
Authors: Vaidya Sunil R. , Hamde Venkat S. , Kumbhar Neelakshi S. , Walimbe Atul M.
Published: January 2018

Mumps is an infectious disease caused by mumps virus (MuV), which belongs to the family Paramyxoviridae and genus Rubulavirus. Typical symptoms of mumps include fever and swelling of the parotid glands; however, mumps can be asymptomatic. Mumps is diagnosed by molecular and serological methods (i.e., PCR and Enzyme Immunoassay [EIA]); however, both methods have pros and cons. This study was performed to compare the diagnostic utility of a focus reduction neutralization test (FRNT) to that of MuV‐specific commercial IgM and IgG antibody EIA in patients suspected of having mumps. One hundred‐eighty six samples collected during mumps outbreak in 2012–16 were studied. Samples (n = 80) were tested by all the three serological assays and showed 70.4%, 83% and 92.5% positivity by IgM EIA, IgG and FRNT, respectively. In all, 58.8% samples (n = 47) tested positive in all three assays. Concordance between mumps RT‐PCR and IgM EIA was highest during the first 2–5 days and decreased with increasing time post‐onset. Mumps FRNT results agreed with those of RT‐PCR/IgM EIA from the second week onwards, whereas the results of mumps IgG EIA agreed with those of RT‐PCR/IgM EIA from post‐onset days 3–10. These findings suggest the utility of a FRNT for laboratory diagnosis of mumps in countries whose populations are not immunized against this infection.
Westminster Too: On Sexual Harassment in British Politics
Authors: Krook Mona Lena
Published: January 2018

At the end of 2017, millions of women used the #MeToo hashtag to draw attention to widespread sexual harassment and assault around the world. In British politics, female politicians, staff members, and journalists opened up about their own experiences, provoking the resignation and party suspension of a number of male Cabinet ministers and Members of Parliament. This article explores how this issue got on the political agenda, what features of politics might foster harassment and discourage reporting, and what solutions might be pursued to tackle this problem. It argues that sexual harassment should be understood as a systemic, cultural problem, rather than a question of problematic individuals. Ignoring the issue of sexual harassment in politics, the article concludes, has serious consequences for gender equality—as well as for democracy itself, reducing policy effectiveness, distorting the political pipeline, and diminishing political transparency and accountability.
Bridging the Gap: Evidence from Externally Hired CEOs
Authors: ERTIMUR YONCA , RAWSON CALEB , ROGERS JONATHAN L. , ZECHMAN SARAH L. C.
Published: January 2018

We investigate executive employment gaps (hereafter, gaps) between the appointment of an external CEO at a public firm and the individual's prior executive position at a public company. These gaps cannot be reliably obtained from common databases. We hand‐collect data for externally hired CEOs at public companies from 1992 to 2014. These CEOs represent approximately 40% of the 5,095 CEO successions and have a mean gap of 1.9 years. The gap increases to 3.2 years for the subset of new hires with a gap. We hypothesize that labor market frictions and executive skill sets contribute to the existence and length of these gaps. Using theories from labor economics, we predict (equilibrium) associations between two measures of “fit” (executive compensation and long‐term match quality) and gaps (both existence and length). Finally, we provide descriptive evidence on what executives do (e.g., sit on boards, work for private consulting companies, or consume leisure) during their gaps. This project was subject to and published through a registered report process. Any tests that were not included in the accepted proposal are marked as unplanned analyses.
ATF3 represses PINK1 gene transcription in lung epithelial cells to control mitochondrial homeostasis
Authors: Bueno Marta , Brands Judith , Voltz Lauren , Fiedler Kaitlin , Mays Brenton , St. Croix Claudette , Sembrat John , Mallampalli Rama K. , Rojas Mauricio , Mora Ana L.
Published: January 2018

PINK1 (PTEN‐induced putative kinase 1) is a key regulator of mitochondrial homeostasis that is relatively depleted in aging lungs and in lung epithelial cells from patients with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF), a disease linked with aging. Impaired PINK1 expression and accumulation of damaged mitochondria in lung epithelial cells from fibrotic lungs were associated with the presence of ER stress. Here, we show that ATF3 (activating transcription factor 3), a member of the integrated stress response (ISR), negatively regulates transcription of the PINK1 gene. An ATF3 binding site within the human PINK1 promoter is located in the first 150 bp upstream of the transcription start site. Induction of ER stress or overexpression of ATF3 inhibited the activity of the PINK1 promoter. Importantly, overexpression of ATF3 causes accumulation of depolarized mitochondria, increased production of mitochondrial ROS, and loss of cell viability. Furthermore, conditional deletion of ATF3 in type II lung epithelial cells protects mice from bleomycin‐induced lung fibrosis. Finally, we observed that ATF3 expression increases in the lung with age and, specially, in lung epithelial cells from IPF lungs. These data provide a unique link between ATF3 and PINK1 expression suggesting that persistent stress, driven by ATF3, can dysregulate mitochondrial homeostasis by repression of PINK1 mRNA synthesis.
Pressure dressings in mastoid and middle ear surgery: are they necessary? A retrospective review of patient outcomes
Authors: O'Brien Justin Xavier , Ruskin Olivia , Price Tim
Published: January 2018

Background

The application of mastoid pressure dressings following mastoid and middle ear surgery is widely practised to reduce the risk of haematoma and seroma. There are a number of minor morbidities associated with use of the dressings, as well as a financial cost associated with an overnight stay in hospital or a return appointment for removal of the dressings. The benefit of having these dressings in situ overnight is questionable.

Methods

A retrospective review of 133 patients who had their mastoid dressing removed 2 h after their procedure was undertaken at our Hospital. The patient records were scanned for procedure‐related morbidities, and perioperative data were analysed.

Results

No haematomas or seromas occurred in any of the 133 patients studied. Minor morbidities associated with prolonged use of mastoid pressure dressings were avoided.

Conclusion

Removal of mastoid pressure dressings 2 h following ear surgery is safe and effective. Furthermore, a mastoid dressing should not be a factor in the decision as to whether to treat a patient as a day case or overnight admission.
Cross‐sectional study of randomly selected 18‐year‐old students showed that body mass index was only associated with sleep duration in girls
Authors: Kjartansdottir Ingibjorg , Arngrimsson Sigurbjorn A. , Bjarnason Ragnar , Olafsdottir Anna S.
Published: January 2018

Aim

This study investigated the associations, by sex, between sleep and adiposity, dietary habits, cardiorespiratory fitness and metabolic risk in 18‐year‐old students.

Methods

We carried out a cross‐sectional study of 199 randomly chosen, healthy 18‐year‐old students (53% girls) in Iceland's capital region. The data collection took place in the winter months of 2012 to 2015. The anthropometric measurements were body mass index, waist circumference and body fat percentage. Sleep duration and dietary habits were self‐reported. Cardiorespiratory fitness was measured on a stationary bicycle. A subsample of 152 participants gave blood samples.

Results

A quarter of the adolescents failed to reach the minimum recommended sleep duration of seven hours per night on weekdays. In girls, the average sleep score was associated with body mass index and waist circumference, after adjusting for cardiorespiratory fitness and unhealthy eating scores. In boys, the average sleep score was not associated with anthropometric measurements, but cardiorespiratory fitness was an independent predictor (p < 0.001). No associations were found between average sleep scores and metabolic profiles in either sex.

Conclusion

Sleep duration and adiposity only appeared to be associated in girls and were independent of cardiorespiratory fitness and unhealthy eating. Sleep duration was not related to metabolic risk.
Purine‐related metabolites and their converting enzymes are altered in frontal, parietal and temporal cortex at early stages of Alzheimer's disease pathology
Authors: Alonso‐Andrés Patricia , Albasanz José Luis , Ferrer Isidro , Martín Mairena
Published: January 2018

Adenosine, hypoxanthine, xanthine, guanosine and inosine levels were assessed by HPLC, and the activity of related enzymes 5′‐nucleotidase (5′‐NT), adenosine deaminase (ADA) and purine nucleoside phosphorylase (PNP) measured in frontal (FC), parietal (PC) and temporal (TC) cortices at different stages of disease progression in Alzheimer's disease (AD) and in age‐matched controls. Significantly decreased levels of adenosine, guanosine, hypoxanthine and xanthine, and apparently less inosine, are found in FC from the early stages of AD; PC and TC show an opposing pattern, as adenosine, guanosine and inosine are significantly increased at least at determinate stages of AD whereas hypoxanthine and xanthine levels remain unaltered. 5′‐NT is reduced in membranes and cytosol in FC mainly at early stages but not in PC, and only at advanced stages in cytosol in TC. ADA activity is decreased in AD when considered as a whole but increased at early stages in TC. Finally, PNP activity is increased only in TC at early stages. Purine metabolism alterations occur at early stages of AD independently of neurofibrillary tangles and β‐amyloid plaques. Alterations are stage dependent and region dependent, the latter showing opposite patterns in FC compared with PC and TC. Adenosine is the most affected of the assessed purines.
Osimertinib in patients with epidermal growth factor receptor T790M advanced non‐small cell lung cancer selected using cytology samples
Authors: Kiura Katsuyuki , Yoh Kiyotaka , Katakami Nobuyuki , Nogami Naoyuki , Kasahara Kazuo , Takahashi Toshiaki , Okamoto Isamu , Cantarini Mireille , Hodge Rachel , Uchida Hirohiko
Published: January 2018

Osimertinib is a potent, irreversible epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI) selective for EGFR‑TKI sensitizing (EGFRm) and T790M resistance mutations. The primary objective of the cytology cohort in the AURA study was to investigate safety and efficacy of osimertinib in pretreated Japanese patients with EGFR T790M mutation‐positive non‐small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), with screening EGFR T790M mutation status determined from cytology samples. The cytology cohort was included in the Phase I dose expansion component of the AURA study. Patients were enrolled based on a positive result of T790M by using cytology samples, and received osimertinib 80 mg in tablet form once daily until disease progression or until clinical benefit was no longer observed at the discretion of the investigator. Primary endpoint for efficacy was objective response rate (ORR) by investigator assessment. Twenty‐eight Japanese patients were enrolled into the cytology cohort. At data cut‐off (February 1, 2016), 12 (43%) were on treatment. Investigator‐assessed ORR was 75% (95% confidence interval [CI] 55, 89) and median duration of response was 9.7 months (95% CI 3.8, not calculable [NC]). Median progression‐free survival was 8.3 months (95% CI 4.2, NC) and disease control rate was 96% (95% CI 82, 100). The most common all‐causality adverse events were paronychia (46%), dry skin (46%), diarrhea (36%) and rash (36%). Osimertinib provided clinical benefit with a manageable safety profile in patients with pretreated EGFR T790M mutation‐positive NSCLC whose screening EGFR T790M mutation‐positive status was determined from cytology samples. (ClinicalTrials.gov number NCT01802632).
Preparation and evaluation of effect on Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus of radiolabeled ampicillin‐loaded graphene oxide nanoflakes
Authors: Yurt Fatma , Ersöz Onur Alp , Harputlu Ersan , Ocakoglu Kasim
Published: January 2018

Ampicillin is a one of effective antibiotics against Gram‐positive and Gram‐negative bacteria. This study aimed to label ampicillin‐loaded graphene oxide nanoflake (AMP‐GO) with 99mTc and evaluate of its in vitro binding to Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli. Firstly, ampicillin was loaded into graphene oxide nanoflake prepared. AMP‐GO was characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and scanning electron microscope (SEM) techniques, and the amount of loaded ampicillin onto GO was determined by UV‐Vis absorption spectroscopy. AMP and AMP‐GO were labeled with 99mTc using stannous chloride reducing agent. Labeling efficiency of 99mTc‐AMP‐GO was found to be 97.66 ± 2.06%. 99mTc‐AMP‐GO has higher binding efficiencies to both S. aureus and E. coli than 99mTc‐AMP. 99mTc‐AMP‐GO could be promising candidate as agent infection nuclear imaging. Furthermore, in vivo studies of 99mTc‐AMP‐GO with infected rats are planned to be performed.
Modern management of T1 rectal cancer by transanal endoscopic microsurgery: a 10‐year single‐centre experience
Authors: Jones H. J. S. , Hompes R. , Mortensen N. , Cunningham C.
Published: January 2018

Aim

Minimally invasive, organ‐sparing surgery has been used increasingly for early rectal cancer in recent years. However, local recurrence remains a concern. This study presents a 10‐year single‐centre experience of recurrence after local excision for T1 rectal cancer.

Method

Data were collected prospectively on all patients undergoing local excision by transanal endoscopic microsurgery (TEM) in a single institution. Data covering a 10‐year period were analysed.

Results

In all, 192 patients underwent TEM for rectal cancer; 70 of these had T1 tumour in the TEM specimen and did not have preoperative radiotherapy. Four were managed with completion surgery following TEM and a further six had radiotherapy; 60 underwent surveillance alone. Local recurrence occurred in six patients; three underwent salvage surgery. Estimated local recurrence at 3 years was 7.2% for the surveillance alone group.

Conclusions

Local recurrence rates were lower than previous studies. Better preoperative assessment, more effective local excision surgery and postoperative radiotherapy may be contributory factors to a better‐than‐predicted outcome. Local excision should be offered as part of standard of care for T1 rectal cancer in the presence of good preoperative selection and meticulous surveillance.
Mitochondrial DNA Heteroplasmy and Purifying Selection in the Mammalian Female Germ Line
Authors: Burr Stephen P. , Pezet Mikael , Chinnery Patrick F.
Published: January 2018

Inherited mutations in the mitochondrial (mt)DNA are a major cause of human disease, with approximately 1 in 5000 people affected by one of the hundreds of identified pathogenic mtDNA point mutations or deletions. Due to the severe, and often untreatable, symptoms of many mitochondrial diseases, identifying how these mutations are inherited from one generation to the next has been an area of intense research in recent years. Despite large advances in our understanding of this complex process, many questions remain unanswered, with one of the most hotly debated being whether or not purifying selection acts against pathogenic mutations during germline development.
Role of mitochondrial Ca2+ uniporter in remifentanil‐induced postoperative allodynia
Authors: Lu Aizhu , Lei Hongyi , Li Le , Lai Luying , Liang Wenbin , Xu Shiyuan
Published: January 2018

Opioid‐induced hyperalgesia (OIH) and allodynia is a well‐known phenomenon and refers to the pain sensitization in patients after prolonged opioid exposure. OIH limits the use of opioids in pain control, but the underlying mechanisms are not fully clear. This study investigated the role of mitochondrial Ca2+ uniporter (MCU) in remifentanil (a commonly used opioid analgesic)‐induced allodynia. Using a rat model of OIH, we found that incision‐ and remifentanil‐induced mechanical allodynia were remarkably attenuated by pretreatment with Ru360, a specific MCU antagonist, suggesting a critical role of MCU in both incision‐ and opioid‐induced allodynia. In addition, imaging studies with Rhod‐2 (a mitochondrial Ca2+ dye) in spinal tissues demonstrated increased mitochondrial Ca2+ level in response to incision and remifentanil infusion, which was attenuated by Ru360. Western blot and immunohistochemistry showed that pNR [phosphorylated N‐methyl‐D‐aspartate (NMDA) receptor] and pERK (phosphorylated extracellular signal‐regulated kinase) are increased during both incision‐induced hyperalgesia and remifentanil‐induced hyperalgesia, and again the increases in pNR and pERK were remarkably attenuated by Ru360. Together, our data demonstrate that MCU plays a critical role in remifentanil‐induced postoperative mechanical allodynia, with NMDA receptor and ERK as possible downstream effectors. Our findings provide novel mechanisms for remifentanil‐induced mechanical allodynia and encourage future studies to examine the mitochondrial Ca2+ uniporter as a potential therapeutic target for prevention of OIH.
Socratic inquiry and the “What‐is‐F?” question
Authors: Clark Justin C.
Published: January 2018

In raising the “What‐is‐F?” question, commentators disagree about whether Socrates is asking a conceptual question (about the meaning of a virtue‐term “F”) or a causal question (about how F fits into the causal network of the world). I argue that the contexts surrounding Socrates' two most prominent examples of adequate answers confirm that the “What‐is‐F?” question is a conceptual question in both the Meno and Euthyphro, but a causal question in the Laches and Protagoras. The “What‐is‐F?” question is multifunctional. Plato's Socrates consistently employs two separate vocabularies in connection with these two types of questions. By outlining their vocabularies, and by examining other important contextual signals, I pave the way for readers to distinguish between conceptual and causal investigation in the “dialogues of definition.”
Full‐field characterization of a fatigue crack: Crack closure revisited
Authors: Tong J. , Alshammrei S. , Wigger T. , Lupton C. , Yates J.R.
Published: January 2018

The full‐field of a fatigue crack, ahead and behind the crack tip, has been examined in this work using Digital Image Correlation. We measured, in situ, the surface crack opening displacements at selected locations behind the crack tip and the evolution of the near‐tip displacements and strains ahead of the crack tip, during loading and unloading in a model material of a standard compact tension specimen. In addition, the stress intensity factor for the compact tension specimen was also estimated from the Williams' series expansion by using the displacements obtained from Digital Image Correlation as a function of applied load. The results present a complete picture of the crack tip field at the selected load levels, where events both ahead and behind of the crack tip were studied for the first time in crack driving and attenuation effects. We hope that the results provide some fundamental insights into the full‐field behaviour of a crack tip under cyclic loading conditions and shed light on the phenomenon of crack closure and its relevance to fatigue crack driving force ΔKunder small‐scale yielding conditions.
A potential role for the silent information regulator 2 homologue 1 (SIRT1) in periapical periodontitis
Authors: Kudo H. , Takeichi O. , Hatori K. , Makino K. , Himi K. , Ogiso B.
Published: January 2018

Aim

To investigate the role played by silent information regulator 2 homologue 1 (SIRT1) during angiogenesis of periapical periodontitis.

Methodology

Periapical granulomas were subjected to dual‐colour immunofluorescence imaging and real‐time polymerase chain reactions assaying the expression levels of SIRT1, vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and VE‐cadherin. The association between Ki‐67 and SIRT1 expression was also examined. Human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) were treated with a combination of lipopolysaccharide and resveratrol (a SIRT1 activator) or sirtinol (a SIRT1 inhibitor); and the levels of mRNAs encoding SIRT1, VEGF and VE‐cadherin were determined. HUVEC tube formation was assayed in the presence of resveratrol or sirtinol. The Mann–Whitney U‐test or the Tukey–Kramer test was used for statistical analysis.

Results

Ki‐67‐expressing cells, including endothelial cells, lay adjacent to SIRT1‐expressing cells in periapical granulomas. In addition, SIRT1‐expressing cells were detected adjacent to VEGF‐expressing cells and VEGF‐ or VE‐cadherin‐expressing endothelial cells. SIRT1, VEGF and VE‐cadherin mRNA expression levels in periapical granulomas were significantly higher (P = 0.0054, 0.0090 and 0.0090, respectively) than those in healthy gingival tissues. HUVECs treated with resveratrol exhibited significantly higher expression of mRNAs encoding SIRT1, VEGF and VE‐cadherin (P = 0.0019, 0.00005 and 0.0045, respectively) compared with controls, but sirtinol inhibited such expression. Resveratrol caused HUVECs to form tube‐like structures, whilst sirtinol inhibited this process.

Conclusions

These findings suggest that SIRT1 may stimulate angiogenesis in periapical granulomas by triggering the proliferation of endothelial cells and inducing VEGF and VE‐cadherin expression.
Dietary approach to stop hypertension diet and cardiovascular risk factors among 10‐ to 18‐year‐old individuals
Authors: Farhadnejad H. , Asghari G. , Mirmiran P. , Azizi F.
Published: January 2018

Background

Current evidence available on the association between Dietary Approach to Stop Hypertension (DASH) diet and cardiovascular risk in adolescents is controversial.

Objective

The aim of the present study was to assess the association between DASH diet and cardiovascular risk factors after 3 years of follow‐up among Tehranian adolescents.

Methods

A population‐based cohort study was conducted on 628 subjects, aged 10–18 years, selected from among participants of the Tehran Lipid and Glucose Study. The DASH score was determined on the basis of eight components using a valid and reliable food‐frequency questionnaire at baseline. Anthropometric and lipid profile data were measured at baseline and after a 3‐year follow‐up.

Results

Mean (SD) age of the study population (46.6% men) was 14.1 (2.5) years. After adjustment for potential confounding variables, including sex, age, physical activity and total calorie intake, the risk of general obesity (OR = 0.26, 95%CI: 0.15–0.76) and central obesity (OR = 0.32, 95%CI: 0.14–0.84) in the highest quintile of DASH score were significantly lower than in subjects in the lowest quintile. However, DASH score was not associated with risk of incident dyslipidaemia in our study (OR = 0.81, 95%CI: 0.30–1.82). The higher DASH score was inversely associated with 3‐year changes in body mass index and waist circumference during the study period (P for trend <0.05). However, there was no significant association between the higher score of this diet with 3‐year changes in lipid profiles.

Conclusion

Adherence to the DASH diet was associated with decreased risk of central and general obesity, whereas higher DASH diet score was not associated with risk of dyslipidaemia in adolescents.
The Effect of Anti‐Discrimination Policies on Middle Eastern and North African Immigrants in 24 European Countries
Authors: Kislev Elyakim
Published: January 2018

In light of the new wave of immigrants and asylum seekers from the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) to Europe, this article investigates some of the challenges of the previous phases of immigration of MENA immigrants in order to propose how best to address the needs of the new one. In particular, this article looks at the relationship between different types of anti‐discrimination policy and the levels of perceived discrimination among first‐ and second‐generation MENA immigrants to Europe. This research uses hierarchical models to integrate data from the European Social Survey (ESS) and the Migrant Integration Policy Index. Findings show that enforcement mechanisms are most efficient in reducing feelings of discrimination among veteran and second‐generation MENA immigrants, while broad and well defined anti‐discrimination policies are highly effective among newcomers.