bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Bank size, information sharing and financial access in Africa
Authors: Asongu Simplice , Nwachukwu Jacinta
Published: February 2018

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to investigate how bank size affects the role of information asymmetry on financial access in a panel of 162 banks in 39 African countries for the period 2001-2011.

Design/methodology/approach

The empirical evidence is based on instrumental variable fixed effects regressions with overlapping and non-overlapping bank size thresholds to control for the quiet life hypothesis (QLH). The QLH postulates that managers of large banks will use their privileges for private gains at the expense of making financial services more accessible to the general public. Financial access is measured with loan price and loan quantity whereas information asymmetry is implicit in the activities of public credit registries and private credit bureaus.

Findings

The findings with non-overlapping thresholds are broadly consistent with those that are conditional on overlapping thresholds. First, public credit registries have a decreasing effect on the price of loans with the magnitude of reduction comparable across all bank size thresholds. Second, both public credit registries and private credit bureaus enhance the quantity of loans. Third, compared with public credit registries, private credit bureaus have a greater influence in increasing financial access because they have a significantly higher favorable effect on the quantity and price of loans Fourth, the QLH is not apparent because large banks are not associated with lower levels of financial access compared to small banks.

Originality/value

Studies of public credit registries and private credit bureaus in Africa are sparse. This is one of the few to assess linkages between bank size, information asymmetry and financial access.
Terrorism, competitiveness, and international marketing: an empirical investigation
Authors: Zeneli Valbona , Czinkota Michael R. , Knight Gary
Published: February 2018

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to research the relationship between terrorism and multinational enterprises (MNEs), focusing on operational costs, marketing planning, supply chain management, and distribution activities. Terrorism is a growing threat to internationally active firms, but there has been no empirical research to address the distinctive challenges that terrorism poses for the international marketing activities of firms.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper opted for an exploratory investigation, following a two-phase research design. In the first phase it was based on qualitative interviews with internationally active firms. In the second phase, an online survey of a large sample of international firms based in the USA was performed. All measures were developed specifically for the study.

Findings

The paper provides empirical insights about how terrorism affects MNEs, especially those operating in emerging markets. It suggests that terrorism accounts for significant costs in the international marketing budget of MNEs, as well as in planning, and the design of supply chains and distribution channels. Findings also reveal that firms with significant resources and international experience appear to cope better with terrorism’s effects.

Research limitations/implications

Given the early stage of empirical research on terrorism and international marketing, this study was necessarily exploratory.

Practical implications

The paper includes implications and suggestions for multinational companies to increase the security of their businesses through the development of corporate preparedness.

Social implications

Terrorism represents not only an organizational crisis at the level of a firm, but it affects the whole society.

Originality/value

This paper fulfills an identified need to study the relationship between the growing threat of terrorism and international business.
Smallholder value chains as complex adaptive systems: a conceptual framework
Authors: Orr Alastair , Donovan Jason , Stoian Dietmar
Published: February 2018

Purpose

Smallholder value chains are dynamic, changing over time in sudden, unpredictable ways as they adapt to shocks. Understanding these dynamics and adaptation is essential for these chains to remain competitive in turbulent markets. Many guides to value chain development, though they focus welcome attention on snapshots of current structure and performance, pay limited attention to the dynamic forces affecting these chains or to adaptation. The paper aims to discuss these issues.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper develops an expanded conceptual framework to understand value chain performance based on the theory of complex adaptive systems. The framework combines seven common properties of complex systems: time, uncertainty, sensitivity to initial conditions, endogenous shocks, sudden change, interacting agents and adaptation.

Findings

The authors outline how the framework can be used to ask new research questions and analyze case studies in order to improve our understanding of the development of smallholder value chains and their capacity for adaptation.

Research limitations/implications

The framework highlights the need for greater attention to value chain dynamics.

Originality/value

The framework offers a new perspective on the dynamics of smallholder value chains.
Is the health care price inflation in US urban areas stationary?
Authors: Murthy Vasudeva , Okunade Albert
Published: February 2018

Purpose

This study aims to investigate, for the first time in the literature, the stochastic properties of the US aggregate health-care price inflation rate series, using the data on health-care inflation rates for a panel of 17 major US urban areas for the period 1966-2006.

Design/methodology/approach

This goal is undertaken by applying the first- and second-generation panel unit root tests and the panel stationary test developed recently by Carrion-i-Silvestre et al. (2005) that allows for endogenously determined multiple structural breaks and is flexible enough to control for the presence of cross-sectional dependence.

Findings

The empirical findings indicate that after controlling for the presence of cross-sectional dependence, finite sample bias, and asymptotic normality, the US aggregate health-care price inflation rate series can be characterized as a non-stationary process and not as a regime-wise stationary innovation process.

Research limitations/implications

The research findings apply to understanding of health-care sector price escalation in US urban areas. These findings have timely implications for the understanding of the data structure and, therefore, constructs of economic models of urban health-care price inflation rates. The results confirming the presence of a unit root indicating a high degree of inflationary persistence in the health sector suggests need for further studies on health-care inflation rate persistence using the alternative measures of persistence. This study’s conclusions do not apply to non-urban areas.

Practical implications

The mean and variance of US urban health-care inflation rate are not constant. Therefore, insurers and policy rate setters need good understanding of the interplay of the various factors driving the explosive health-care insurance rates over the large US metropolitan landscape. The study findings have implications for health-care insurance premium rate setting, health-care inflation econometric modeling and forecasting.

Social implications

Payers (private and public employers) of health-care insurance rates in US urban areas should evaluate the value of benefits received in relation to the skyrocketing rise of health-care insurance premiums.

Originality/value

This is the first empirical research focusing on the shape of urban health-care inflation rates in the USA.
Millennials: America’s cash cow is not necessarily a herd
Authors: Migacz Steven J. , Petrick James F.
Published: February 2018

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine the travel motivations, perceived benefits of travel, and the utility of travel mediums among US millennials.

Design/methodology/approach

In order to further examine the homogeneity of millennial travelers, millennials were put into two subgroups based on their age and annual income. Data were collected in multiple phases, incorporating both qualitative and quantitative methodological approaches.

Findings

Results revealed that several significant differences exist between the proposed millennial subgroups, labeled “young and free millennials” and “professional millennials.”

Research limitations/implications

Implications from this study include direction for both tourism marketers and destination suppliers based on the differences and perceptions of both groups and suggest millennials are not a homogeneous market.

Originality/value

Millennials are far from being part of a homogenous cohort. Therefore, the current study sought to examine differences in the benefits received from travel and the primary reasons to travel among distinct millennial segments.
Understanding millennials’ tourism experience: values and meaning to travel as a key for identifying target clusters for youth (sustainable) tourism
Authors: Cavagnaro Elena , Staffieri Simona , Postma Albert
Published: February 2018

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to better understand the tourism experience of millennials by connecting their value orientations to the meaning that they give to travel. In doing so, it also aims at discovering profiles of young tourists that can be targeted both now and in the future by tourism organisations.

Design/methodology/approach

A survey based on validated scales reached 423 Dutch millennials. An integrated multidimensional research strategy has been applied where models that reduce the gathered data to fewer components (principal component analyses) were followed by a cluster analysis.

Findings

Ten value orientations (Schwartz, 1994) and four travel meanings have been identified. By combining these ten value orientations and four meanings, nine clusters have been identified representing groups of millennial tourists with different needs. For example, while two clusters fit into the popular description of young travellers seeking only unpretentious enjoyment, millennials represented in two other clusters are strongly motivated by self-transcending values, distance themselves from the travel meaning escapism and relaxation and will therefore not positively respond to a merely hedonic travel offer.

Research limitations/implications

Replication of this research is recommended in other national contexts, possibly using a longitudinal approach.

Practical implications

The nine clusters should be approached with a dedicated travel offer. In particular, at least two clusters of millennials may be successfully approached with a sustainable tourism offer.

Originality/value

The combination of value orientations and travel meanings portrays a detailed and realistic picture of the tourism experience looked for by millennials.
Charismatic and corrective leadership dimensions as antecedents of employee safety behaviours
Authors: Dartey-Baah Kwasi , Addo Seth Ayisi
Published: February 2018

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to investigate idealised influence under transformational leadership and active management-by-exception (MBE-A) under transactional leadership as the predictors of employee safety behaviours among engineers and technicians in the Ghanaian power transmission subsector.

Design/methodology/approach

The study employed a cross-sectional survey design and a quantitative approach to gather data from 278 respondents through the use of a structured questionnaire. Covariance-based structural equation modelling was used to analyse the data and test the hypotheses with 264 usable responses.

Findings

The analysis revealed that idealised influence had positive significant effects on both safety compliance and safety participation of employees. Surprisingly, MBE-A had a positive influence on safety participation but not on safety compliance.

Practical implications

The findings of this study present useful practical implications for leaders and policy makers in organisations in engendering good safety behaviours of employees and improving overall organisational safety performance.

Originality/value

The variables used in the study together with the study’s Ghanaian bureaucratic context present interesting and fresh insights into the interplay between leadership and employee safety, thereby contributing to the discourse on the safety leadership construct.
The interplay between firms’ internal and external capabilities in exploration and exploitation
Authors: Camisón César , Boronat-Navarro Montserrat , Forés Beatriz
Published: February 2018

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to enrich the explanation of the interplay between internal and external – or district shared – exploration and exploitation capabilities as antecedents of a firm’s radical and incremental innovation. Previous studies do not differentiate between exploration and exploitation in district shared capabilities and how they interact with internal capabilities.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper uses hierarchical regression analysis to test the quadratic and moderating effects in a sample of 1,019 Spanish firms.

Findings

Results show an increasingly positive effect on radical innovation of exploration capabilities, enhanced by shared capabilities in exploration. In the case of incremental innovation, the study finds evidence of an increasingly positive influence of exploitation capabilities and a concave relationship of exploration capabilities. Moreover, shared exploitation capabilities weaken the effect of internal exploitation capabilities and also have a direct effect on incremental innovation. Therefore, the two capabilities are interchangeable in the effect they have on incremental innovation.

Practical implications

Depending on the firm’s innovation strategy, intra-district firms should develop specific capabilities and/or concentrate on adopting the shared capabilities in the destination.

Originality/value

The study furthers the understanding of the relationship between exploration and radical innovation, and between exploitation and incremental innovation, which is more complex than previously depicted. The study also differentiates between exploration and exploitation in shared capabilities, enriching understanding of the competitiveness of district firms.
Corporate entrepreneurship and business performance
Authors: Umrani Waheed Ali , Kura Kabiru Maitama , Ahmed Umair
Published: February 2018

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the relationship between corporate entrepreneurship (CE), organizational culture (OC) and business performance (BP). Additionally, the study has attempted to address the moderating influence of OC on CE–BP relationship.

Design/methodology/approach

Data were collected from middle managers of Big Five banks of Pakistan. A two-step approach to structural equation modeling was used. Using confirmatory factor analysis, the measurement model fit was determined. The significance of the theoretical relationship was assessed using structural model.

Findings

The results have supported the hypothesized direct and moderated relationship.

Originality/value

The present study extends the body of knowledge in testing the resource-based view of the firm theory and contingency theory through providing empirical evidence on the hypothesized relationships. Additionally, the study has contributed in the existing theory through evaluating the moderating of OC by using interaction effect in partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM).
Convection vs vapour phase reflow in LED and BGA assembly
Authors: Dziurdzia Barbara , Sobolewski Maciej , Mikolajek Janusz
Published: February 2018

Purpose

The aim of this paper is to evaluate using statistical methods how two soldering techniques – the convection reflow and vapour phase reflow with vacuum – influence reduction of voids in lead-free solder joints under Light Emitted Diodes (LEDs) and Ball Grid Arrays (BGAs).

Design/methodology/approach

Distribution of voids in solder joints under thermal and electrical pads of LEDs and in solder balls of BGAs assembled with convection reflow and vapour phase reflow with vacuum has been investigated in terms of coverage or void contents, void diameters and number of voids. For each soldering technology, 80 LEDs and 32 solder balls in BGAs were examined. Soldering processes were carried out in the industrial or semi-industrial environment. The OM340 solder paste of Innolot type was used for LED soldering. Voidings in solder joints were inspected with a 2D X-ray transmission system. OriginLab was used for statistical analysis.

Findings

Investigations supported by statistical analysis showed that the vapour phase reflow with vacuum decreases significantly void contents and number and diameters of voids in solder joints under LED and BGA packages when compared to convection reflow.

Originality/value

Voiding distribution data were collected on the basis of 2D X-ray images for test samples manufactured during the mass production processes. Statistical analysis enabled to appraise soldering technologies used in these processes in respect of void formation.
Private land conservation has landscape‐scale benefits for wildlife in agroecosystems
Authors: Yeiser John M. , Morgan John J. , Baxley Danna L. , Chandler Richard B. , Martin James A.
Published: February 2018

Private lands contain much of the world's biodiversity. Conservation of private land, especially agricultural land, is urgent yet challenging because of the diverse priorities of landowners. Local effects of farmland conservation programmes have been evaluated thoroughly, but population‐level response to these programmes may depend on effects that extend beyond targeted land parcels. We investigated the landscape‐scale effects of a grassland conservation initiative, the Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program (CREP), on a socially and economically important game bird, the Northern BobwhiteColinus virginianus.

Barriers to assessing population‐level response to conservation include determining the spatial scale at which a species responds to environmental change (the scale of effect) and untangling density‐dependent processes. We performed point counts over 6 years at 247 sites with similar local CREP density but varying landscape‐scale CREP density. We used an open‐population distance sampling model to evaluate population response to landscape‐level CREP density and to forecast population densities under differing re‐enrolment scenarios. Our model included kernel smoothing techniques to estimate scale of effect and an estimator of the strength of density dependence.

Density dependence moderated the effectiveness of the CREP, but overall populations responded positively to increasing landscape‐scale CREP density. We estimated that at least 5% of the landscape needs to be in CREP to meet population density goals of 0.25 bobwhite/ha. Conservatively, we recommend 10% of the landscape to be in CREP. Our percent cover recommendations are based on a distance‐weighted average of CREP around focal sites.

Landscape‐scale effects diminished with distance. For example, assuming all else is equal, a CREP field 3,000 m away had 88% less of an effect on local abundance than a field 1,000 m away. Fields farther than 5,000 m away had no effect on local abundance.

Synthesis and applications. Our study underscores the importance of a landscape‐scale approach to farmland conservation. Benefits of these programmes to wildlife can extend beyond the local scale, but their importance to local populations diminishes with distance. Estimating this relationship and incorporating it into a decision framework could help practitioners target land enrolment to meet broadscale population objectives.
Plant functional diversity modulates global environmental change effects on grassland productivity
Authors: Xu Zhuwen , Li Mai‐He , Zimmermann Niklaus E. , Li Shao‐Peng , Li Hui , Ren Haiyan , Sun Hao , Han Xingguo , Jiang Yong , Jiang Lin
Published: February 2018

Although much research has explored changes in ecosystem functions associated with global environmental changes, the mechanistic pathways behind the observed changes remain poorly understood.

Using an 11‐year experiment that increased growing season precipitation and nitrogen deposition in a temperate steppe, we explored the relative importance of direct and indirect environmental change effects on plant primary productivity.

We show that increases in water and nitrogen availability influenced plant productivity via both direct and indirect pathways. While both treatments stimulated plant productivity, changes in plant productivity cannot be explained by observed changes in species or phylogenetic diversity. Instead, the indirect effects of water and nitrogen addition were through their positive effects on plant functional diversity. Importantly, while the increase in one component of functional diversity (community‐level weighted mean of plant stature) resulted in increased productivity, the increase in another component of functional diversity (functional dispersion) resulted in decreased productivity.

Synthesis. Our study provides the first evidence for the opposite effects of community‐weighted means and functional dispersion of plant functional traits on grassland productivity and highlights the importance of both traits of dominant species and trait distribution among species in modulating the effects of global changes on ecosystem functions.
How to quantify competitive ability
Authors: Hart Simon P. , Freckleton Robert P. , Levine Jonathan M.
Published: February 2018

Understanding the role of competition in structuring communities requires that we quantify competitive ability in a way that permits us to predict the outcome of competition over the long term. Given such a clear goal for a process that has been the focus of ecological research for decades, there is surprisingly little consensus on how to measure competitive ability, with up to 50 different metrics currently proposed.

Using competitive population dynamics as a foundation, we define competitive ability—the ability of one species to exclude another—using quantitative theoretical models of population dynamics to isolate the key parameters that are known to predict competitive outcomes.

Based on the definition of competitive ability we identify the empirical requirements and describe straightforward methods for quantifying competitive ability in future empirical studies. In doing so, our analysis also allows us to identify why many existing approaches to studying competition are unsuitable for quantifying competitive ability.

Synthesis. Competitive ability is precisely defined starting from models of competitive population dynamics. Quantifying competitive ability in a theoretically justified manner is straightforward using experimental designs readily applied to studies of competition in the laboratory and field.
Not just things: the roles of objects at the end of life
Authors: Cleeve Helena , Tishelman Carol , Macdonald Alastair , Lindqvist Olav , Goliath Ida
Published: February 2018

While the study of objects in care contexts is an emerging research field, it is largely overlooked in end of life (EoL) care. In this study, we empirically and inductively explore the roles of objects at the EoL from the perspective of bereaved family members. Open individual interviews were conducted with 25 family members recruited from palliative in‐patient and homecare units, as well as residential care facilities. After verbatim transcription, the interviews were analysed thematically. Based on these interviews, we conceptualise the roles of objects as relating to temporality, transformations of the everyday, and care. Through analysis we offer two main insights, the first relating to interdependency between objects and people, and the second to the recognition of objects as simultaneously flexible and stable in this interdependent relationship. The capacity and challenge of objects as part of EoL care lies in their ability to encompass various viewpoints and relationships simultaneously. This might provide valuable insights for staff caring for dying persons and their families. We propose that staff's ability to navigate objects in care practices could be meaningful in supporting the relationships between individuals in EoL situations.
Web Content Management Systems: An Analysis of Forensic Investigatory Challenges
Authors: Horsman Graeme
Published: February 2018

With an increase in the creation and maintenance of personal websites, web content management systems are now frequently utilized. Such systems offer a low cost and simple solution for those seeking to develop an online presence, and subsequently, a platform from which reported defamatory content, abuse, and copyright infringement has been witnessed. This article provides an introductory forensic analysis of the three current most popular web content management systems available, WordPress, Drupal, and Joomla! Test platforms have been created, and their site structures have been examined to provide guidance for forensic practitioners facing investigations of this type. Result's document available metadata for establishing site ownership, user interactions, and stored content following analysis of artifacts including Wordpress's wp_users, and wp_comments tables, Drupal's “watchdog” records, and Joomla!'s _users, and _content tables. Finally, investigatory limitations documenting the difficulties of investigating WCMS usage are noted, and analysis recommendations are offered.
Complementary role of MRI and positron emission tomography in diagnosing cerebral abscess in a patient with metastatic paraganglioma
Authors: Lasocki Arian , Hicks Rodney J
Published: February 2018

Technological advances have increased the ability of imaging to provide an accurate preoperative diagnosis of an intracranial mass. We present the case of a patient with metastatic paraganglioma, who presented with headache and depressed conscious state. We had chronic tachycardia and low‐grade fevers due to increased catecholamine secretion, which limited his clinical assessment. The combination of novel positron emission tomography tracers and advanced magnetic resonance imaging techniques was able to provide a confident preoperative diagnosis of a pyogenic intracranial abscess, which was not suspected clinically. This allowed appropriate therapy to be instituted until the patient's clinical state improved sufficiently for neurosurgery to be performed.
Rhizobacteria improve sugarcane growth and photosynthesis under well‐watered conditions
Authors: Rampazzo P.E. , Marcos F.C.C. , Cipriano M.A.P. , Marchiori P.E.R. , Freitas S.S. , Machado E.C. , Nascimento L.C. , Brocchi M. , Ribeiro R.V.
Published: February 2018

Morpho‐physiological changes caused by particular plant growth‐promoting rhizobacteria were evaluated in sugarcane plants under varying water availability. Under well‐watered conditions, we have found one rhizobacteria isolate (IAC‐RBcr5) able to enhance root dry matter and photosynthesis of sugarcane plants. The IAC‐RBcr5 genome was sequenced and high similarity was found with Pseudomonas putida GB‐1. Based on increased root system size of inoculated plants, we hypothesised that sugarcane plants inoculated with IAC‐RBcr5 would have improved performance under water deficit. Although IAC‐RBcr5 had improved plant leaf CO2 assimilation under water shortage, inoculation caused reduction of biomass accumulation in sugarcane. The negative influence of water deficit on shoot growth rate and root traits such as volume, area, diameter, length and specific root area was higher in plants treated with IAC‐RBcr5 as compared to non‐inoculated ones. However, rhizobacteria‐induced improvements in leaf and root proline contents would represent a strategy for storing carbon and nitrogen during low water availability and helping both organisms to resume their metabolism after rehydration. In conclusion, we found and identified a rhizobacterium able to improve growth and photosynthesis of sugarcane plants. Such benefit for plant growth was lost under low water availability as a likely consequence of increased carbon‐energy demand by rhizobacteria and their sensitivity to drought.
Trust in, trust out: a real cost of sudden and significant financial loss
Authors: Bruhn Aaron
Published: February 2018

This study examines the loss of trust that occurs when individuals suffer from sudden and significant financial loss. We use a qualitative case study to show that individuals lose trust in a range of parties, including financial advisors, banks, credit providers, government and perhaps most damagingly of all, oneself. Such outcomes are concerning as all financial services are based on trust between various parties, and trust is important in making financial decisions. A lack of trust can lead to poorer individual and societal outcomes. It also suggests that trends to financial self‐sufficiency have risks, which impact well beyond monetary losses.
Not all smokers appear to seek nicotine for the same reasons: implications for preclinical research in nicotine dependence
Authors: Garcia‐Rivas Vernon , Deroche‐Gamonet Véronique
Published: February 2018

Tobacco use leads to 6 million deaths every year due to severe long‐lasting diseases. The main component of tobacco, nicotine, is recognized as one of the most addictive drugs, making smoking cessation difficult, even when 70 percent of smokers wish to do so. Clinical and preclinical studies have demonstrated consistently that nicotine seeking is a complex behavior involving various psychopharmacological mechanisms. Evidence supports that the population of smokers is heterogeneous, particularly as regards the breadth of motives that determine the urge to smoke. Here, we review converging psychological, genetic and neurobiological data from clinical and preclinical studies supporting that the mechanisms controlling nicotine seeking may vary from individual to individual. It appears timely that basic neuroscience integrates this heterogeneity to refine our understanding of the neurobiology of nicotine seeking, as tremendous progress has been made in modeling the various psychopharmacological mechanisms driving nicotine seeking in rodents. For a better understanding of the mechanisms that drive nicotine seeking, we emphasize the need for individual‐based research strategies in which nicotine seeking, and eventually treatment efficacy, are determined while taking into account individual variations in the mechanisms of nicotine seeking.
The monoamine stabilizer (−)‐OSU6162 prevents the alcohol deprivation effect and improves motor impulsive behavior in rats
Authors: Fredriksson Ida , Wirf Malin , Steensland Pia
Published: February 2018

Alcohol craving, in combination with impaired impulse control, often leads to relapse. The dopamine system mediates the rewarding properties of alcohol but is also involved in regulating impulsive behavior. The monoamine stabilizer (−)‐OSU6162 (OSU6162) has the ability to stabilize dopamine activity depending on the prevailing dopaminergic tone and may therefore normalize the dopaminergic transmission regulating both alcohol use disorder and impulsivity. We have recently showed that OSU6162 attenuates voluntary alcohol consumption, operant alcohol self‐administration, alcohol withdrawal symptoms and cue‐induced reinstatement of alcohol seeking in rats. Here, we evaluated OSU6162's effects on motor impulsivity in Wistar rats that had voluntarily consumed alcohol or water for 10 weeks. The five‐choice serial reaction time task was used to measure motor impulsivity, and a prolonged waiting period (changed from 5 to 7 seconds) was applied to induce premature responses. OSU6162‐testing was conducted twice a week (Tuesdays and Fridays), every other week with regular baseline training sessions in between. We also tested OSU6162's effects on the alcohol deprivation effect in long‐term alcohol drinking Wistar rats. The results showed that OSU6162 (30 mg/kg) pre‐treatment significantly improved motor impulsivity in the five‐choice serial reaction time task in both alcohol and alcohol‐naïve rats. Moreover, OSU6162 (30 mg/kg) pre‐treatment prevented the alcohol deprivation effect, i.e. relapse‐like drinking behavior after a forced period of abstinence in long‐term drinking rats. In conclusion, our results provide further support for OSU6162 as a novel treatment for alcohol use disorder. The results further indicate that improvement of motor impulse control might be one mechanism behind OSU6162's ability to attenuate alcohol‐mediated behaviors.
The SET protein promotes androgen production in testicular Leydig cells
Authors: Zhang B. , Ma W. , Zhu Q. , Xu W. , Gao L. , Xu B. , Xu S. , Gao C. , Gao L. , Liu J. , Cui Y.
Published: February 2018

Approximately 40% of middle‐aged men exhibit symptoms of late‐onset hypogonadism (LOH). However, the mechanism of androgen deficiency is still currently unclear. As shown in our previous studies, the SET protein is expressed in testicular Leydig cells and ovarian granule cells. This study was designed to investigate the effect of the SET protein on androgen production in Leydig cells. The AdCMV/SET and AdH1siRNA/SET adenoviruses were individually transduced into a cultured mouse Leydig cell line (mLTC‐1) with or without human chorionic gonadotropin (HCG) stimulation in vitro. The primary mouse Leydig cells were used to confirm the main data from mLTC‐1 cells. The SET protein was expressed in the cytoplasm and nucleus of mLTC‐1 cells. Testosterone production was significantly increased in mLTC‐1 cells overexpressing the SET protein compared with the control group (p < 0.05), whereas testosterone production was significantly decreased in the SET knockdown mLTC‐1 cells (p < 0.05). Consistent with the testosterone levels, the expression levels of the steroidogenic acute regulatory (StAR) and cytochrome P450c17α‐hydroxylase (CYP17a1) mRNAs and proteins synchronously changed according to the expression level of the SET protein. Interestingly, the expression of the SET protein was significantly increased in the mLTC‐1 cells stimulated with 0.04 and 0.1 U/mL hCG. In the mLTC‐1 cells transfected with AdH1siRNA/SET and concurrently stimulated with 0.1 U/mL hCG, both testosterone production and StAR expression were significantly lower than in the cells without SET knockdown (p < 0.05). In conclusion, the SET protein participates in regulating testosterone production by increasing the expression of StAR and CYP17a1, and it may be a downstream factor of the classic luteinizing hormone (LH)/luteinizing hormone receptor (LHR) signaling pathway. This study improves our understanding of the intracellular mechanism of testicular steroidogenesis and the pathophysiological mechanism of LOH in the aging male.
Positive Emotion Infusions: Can Savoring Increase Help‐Seeking Intentions among People with Depression?
Authors: Straszewski Tasha , Siegel Jason T.
Published: February 2018

Background

The current research effort used two experimental studies to assess whether a savoring‐based, positive emotion infusion (PEI) could increase help‐seeking intentions among individuals with elevated depressive symptomatology and whether this relationship would be mediated by positive emotion, arousal, and perceptions of personal control.

Methods

In Study 1, participants with elevated depressive symptomatology, recruited from Amazon's Mechanical Turk (N = 135), were randomly assigned to complete a 6‐minute savoring or control writing task followed by a help‐seeking intentions scale. Study 2 participants (N = 136) were randomly assigned to the same tasks, but a scale assessing positive emotion, arousal, and personal control was added.

Results

Study 1 indicated a direct effect; those who savored reported greater help‐seeking intentions compared to control participants. Study 2 revealed an indirect effect of savoring on help‐seeking intentions through greater positive emotion but not through greater arousal or perceptions of personal control.

Conclusion

Together, these results offer additional support for continued research on PEIs, and specifically, savoring‐based PEIs. Although the experimental manipulations may be limited in regard to their ecological validity, for those seeking to create interventions, these studies offer a novel and efficacious approach for motivating individuals with elevated depressive symptomatology to seek help.
Abattoir surveillance of Sarcocystis spp., Cysticercosis ovis and Echinococcus granulosus in Tasmanian slaughter sheep, 2007–2013
Authors: Phythian CJ , Jackson B , Bell R , Citer L , Barwell R , Windsor PA
Published: February 2018

Objective

To estimate the prevalence of macroscopic Sarcocystis spp., Cysticercus ovis and Echinococcus granulosus recorded at routine postmortem inspection of Tasmanian slaughter sheep during 2007 to 2013.

Methods

A retrospective analysis of routine postmortem meat inspection data maintained on 352,325 Tasmanian adult slaughter sheep inspected across nine abattoirs in Tasmania, Victoria and South Australia as part of the National Sheep Health Monitoring Project (NSHMP).

Results

During the period 1 September 2007 to 30 June 2013, the estimated prevalence of macroscopic Sarcocystis spp. was 14.3%, C. ovis was 3.2% and E. granulosus was 0.01%. Mean Sarcocystis spp. line prevalence ranged from 0% to 33.5%. Significant between‐abattoir differences in the level of sarcosporidiosis (P < 0.001) and C. ovis were found (P < 0.001). Overall, very low levels of hydatidosis were recorded throughout the surveillance period. Predicted within‐line prevalence of macroscopic sarcocysts in animals coming from a known/recorded local government area (LGA) (P < 0.001) was lower than that of lines where the LGA was unknown or not recorded. A higher prevalence of sarcocystosis was recorded in lines of sheep aged ≥ 2 years compared with those < 2 years (P < 0.001).

Conclusion

Reasons for the significant between‐abattoir differences in recorded levels of ovine sarcosporidiosis and cysticercosis remain unknown, but may represent sampling bias, with subsets of slaughter sheep going to abattoirs with different tiers or access to markets. Further investigation into apparent differences, including epidemiological studies of properties with high lesion prevalence, comparing meat inspector diagnostic sensitivity, assessing the effect of line speed and tiers and market access in different abattoirs, may be useful.
Spillover of avian haemosporidian parasites (Haemosporidia: Plasmodium) and death of captive psittacine species
Authors: Verwey JK , Peters A , Monks D , Raidal SR
Published: February 2018

Case report

During February 2014, a yellow‐tailed black cockatoo (Calyptorhynchus funereus) and glossy black cockatoo (C. lathami) housed in aviaries on a property in Wamuran, Queensland, were submitted for postmortem. Histopathology and molecular diagnostics demonstrated the presence of Plasmodium sp. infection. The Plasmodium isolate identified has previously only been reported as infecting a healthy wild rufous fantail (Rhipidura rufifrons) in Australia.

Conclusion

To the authors’ knowledge, these are the first reported cases of Plasmodium in Calyptorhynchus. We hypothesised that the maintenance of these two cockatoo species in ground level aviaries in a low‐altitude geographic zone resulted in exposure of birds to mosquito vectors of endemic avian Plasmodium. Black cockatoos roost and forage in the mid to high canopy of forests in the wild, outside the likely spatiotemporal distribution of relevant haemosporidian vectors. It is therefore likely that these birds had immunological naivety and susceptibility to infection with Plasmodium circulating in wild passerines.
Temporary spontaneous regression of feline non‐Hodgkin’s lymphoma
Authors: Elliott J
Published: February 2018

Case report

A 6‐year‐old neutered male British Shorthair cat presented with two rapidly growing subcutaneous masses, one over each thoracic wall. High‐grade, non‐Hodgkin’s lymphoma was confirmed following histopathology, immunohistochemistry and PCR analysis for antigen receptor re‐arrangements. Following biopsy there was rapid regression of the remaining neoplastic tissue with no medical treatment. The cat relapsed 3 months later, with poor response to therapy, and was euthanased.

Conclusion

Spontaneous regression (SR) of cancer is a rare occurrence and is uncommonly reported in veterinary species. To the author’s knowledge this is the first reported case of SR of non‐FeLV‐related feline, high‐grade non‐Hodgkin’s lymphoma.
Internal fixation of proximal fractures of the 2nd and 4th metacarpal and metatarsal bones using bioabsorbable screws
Authors: Mageed M , Steinberg T , Drumm N , Stubbs N , Wegert J , Koene M
Published: February 2018

Objective

Fractures involving the proximal one‐third of the splint bone are relatively rare and are challenging to treat. A variety of management techniques have been reported in the literature. The aim of this retrospective case series was to describe the clinical presentation and evaluate the efficacy of bioabsorbable polylactic acid screws in internal fixation of proximal fractures of the 2nd and 4th metacarpal and metatarsal bones in horses.

Methods

The medical records, diagnostic images and outcome of all horses diagnosed with a proximal fracture of the splint bones and treated with partial resection and internal fixation of the proximal stump using bioabsorbable polylactic acid screws between 2014 and 2015 were reviewed.

Results

Eight horses met the inclusion criteria. The results showed that there were no complications encountered during screw placement or postoperatively. Six horses returned to full work 3 months after the operation and two horses remained mildly lame. On follow‐up radiographs 12 months postoperatively (n = 2) the screws were not completely absorbed. The screws resulted in a cone‐shaped radiolucency, which was progressively replaced from the outer margins by bone sclerosis.

Conclusion

The use of bioabsorbable screws for fixation of proximal fractures of the splint bone appears to be a safe and feasible technique and may offer several advantages over the use of traditional metallic implants.
Effect of pre‐milking teat disinfection on clinical mastitis incidence in a dairy herd in Northern Queensland, Australia
Authors: Rowe SM , Tranter WP , Laven RA
Published: February 2018

Objective

To determine if a pre‐milking teat disinfection protocol would reduce the incidence of clinical mastitis by greater than 50%.

Methods

Two pre‐milking routines were compared in a natural exposure trial. Cows from a single dairy herd were randomly assigned to control (n = 246) and experimental (pre‐milking teat disinfection [PMTD]; n = 244) groups. For cows in the control group, the pre‐milking routine involved minimal teat‐washing, except for cows with wet teat contamination. For cows in the PMTD group, the pre‐milking routine involved washing of all teats, dipping with a commercial 0.1% available iodine solution, allowing a minimum of 30 s contact time and then drying of the teats using disposable paper towel. Clinical cases encountered during the trial were recorded and pathogens were isolated from milk samples using standard laboratory methods.

Results

The effect of PMTD was determined using multivariable binary logistic regression. Multiparous animals in the PMTD group had higher odds of experiencing clinical mastitis overall and of experiencing clinical mastitis caused by environmental pathogens (odds ratio (OR) 1.97 and 4.11, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.15–3.38 and 1.49–11.3, respectively). In primiparous animals, pre‐milking teat disinfection did not reduce the odds of clinical mastitis by greater than 50% (OR 1.31, 95%CI 0.52–3.29).

Conclusion

In this herd, PMTD increased the odds of clinical mastitis. The effectiveness of PMTD to prevent clinical mastitis in pasture‐based systems is likely to vary greatly between herds. We therefore recommend against the wholesale use of this practice on Australian farms.
Laparoscopic ovariectomy in eastern grey kangaroos (Macropus giganteus) and red kangaroos (Macropus rufus)
Authors: Colgan SA , Green LA
Published: February 2018

Objective

To develop a technique for permanent sterilisation of female eastern grey kangaroos (Macropus giganteus) and red kangaroos (M. rufus) as part of a large‐scale macropod management program on an enclosed 1545‐ha site in western Sydney.

Methods

Free‐ranging female kangaroos (n = 1409: 1285 eastern grey kangaroos, 124 red kangaroos) were anaesthetised via remote anaesthetic drug delivery of tiletamine/zolazepam, medetomidine and acepromazine prior to inhalational anaesthesia using isoflurane–oxygen. A laparoscopic ovariectomy technique was developed using standard laparoscopic equipment to effect permanent sterilisation of the kangaroos. The technique described was also adapted for use on immature animals weighing as little as 1 kg. No direct post‐surgical care was provided once the animals had recovered from the anaesthetic.

Results

The procedure was simple to perform and had a very high success rate, with an overall project mortality rate of 2.13% (n = 30). Seven kangaroos (0.05% of all operated kangaroos) were euthanased as a direct result of the surgical procedure. Surgical complications were rare but included inadvertent gastrointestinal tract puncture with the trocar, intraoperative haemorrhage and subcutaneous emphysema leading to pouch eversion following surgery.

Conclusion

The procedure described is a rapid and effective method of permanent fertility control in macropods and carries a low mortality rate.
Preschoolers’ knowledge about language‐specific properties of writing
Authors: Otake Shoko , Treiman Rebecca , Yin Li
Published: February 2018

According to the differentiation hypothesis, young children's attempts to write show characteristics common to all writing systems, such as linearity. Characteristics that are specific to the writing system of the child's culture emerge only later. We tested this hypothesis by presenting adults who knew both Chinese and English with written productions of Chinese and United States 2‐ to 5‐year‐olds and asking them to judge the nationality of the writer. Adults performed significantly above the level expected by chance even with the productions of 2‐ and 3‐year‐olds, suggesting that knowledge of language‐specific characteristics emerges earlier than previously thought. Children appeared to show more language‐specific characteristics in their names than in other writings, for adults performed better with children's names than with other items.

Statement of contribution

What is already known on this subject?

Children's early attempts to write may show general properties of writing, such as linearity.

Knowledge of language‐specific features is thought to develop later.

What does this study adds?

Adults judged whether a writer was an United States or a Chinese child.

Adults performed above the level of chance even with the productions of 2‐ and 3‐year‐olds.

Children begin to learn about language‐specific features earlier than previously thought.