bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Distinct temporal filters in mitral cells and external tufted cells of the olfactory bulb
Authors: Vaaga Christopher E , Westbrook Gary L
Published: May 2017

Short-term synaptic plasticity is a critical regulator of neural circuits, and largely determines how information is temporally processed. In the olfactory bulb, afferent olfactory receptor neurons respond to increasing concentrations of odorants with barrages of action potentials, and their terminals have an extraordinarily high release probability (Sicard, 1986; Murphyet al.,2004). These features suggest that during naturalistic stimuli, afferent input to the olfactory bulb is subject to strong synaptic depression, presumably truncating the postsynaptic response to afferent stimuli. To examine this issue, we used single glomerular stimulation in mouse olfactory bulb slices to measure the synaptic dynamics of afferent-evoked input at physiological stimulus frequencies. In cell-attached recordings, mitral cells responded to high frequency stimulation with sustained responses, whereas external tufted cells responded transiently. Consistent with previous reports (Murphyet al., 2004), olfactory nerve terminals onto both cell types had a high release probability (0.7), from a single pool of slowly recycling vesicles, indicating that the distinct responses of mitral and external tufted cells to high frequency stimulation did not originate presyaptically. Rather, distinct temporal response profiles in mitral cells and external tufted cells could be attributed to slow dendrodendritic responses in mitral cells, as blocking this slow current in mitral cells converted mitral cell responses to a transient response profile, typical of external tufted cells. Our results suggest that despite strong axodendritic synaptic depression, the balance of axodendritic and dendrodendritic circuitry in external tufted cells and mitral cells, respectively, tunes the postsynaptic responses to high frequency, naturalistic stimulation.

Key Points

The release probability of the ORN is reportedly one of the highest in the brain (Murphy et al., 2004), which is predicted to impose a transient temporal filter on postsynaptic cells.

Mitral cells responded to high frequency ORN stimulation with sustained transmission, whereas external tufted cells responded transiently.

The release probability of ORNs (0.7) was equivalent across mitral and external tufted cells and could be explained by a single pool of slowly recycling vesicles.

The sustained response in mitral cells resulted from dendrodendritic amplification in mitral cells, which was blocked by NMDA and mGluR1 receptor antagonists, converting mitral cell responses to transient response profiles.

Our results suggest that although the afferent ORN synapse shows strong synaptic depression, dendrodendritic circuitry in mitral cells produces robust amplification of brief afferent input, thus the relative strength of axodendritic and dendrodendritic input determines the postsynaptic response profile.
Heritable L1 retrotransposition in the mouse primordial germline and early embryo
Authors: Richardson Sandra R. , Gerdes Patricia , Gerhardt Daniel J. , Sanchez-Luque Francisco J. , Bodea Gabriela-Oana , Muñoz-Lopez Martin , Jesuadian J. Samuel , Kempen Marie-Jeanne H.C. , Carreira Patricia E. , Jeddeloh Jeffrey A. , Garcia-Perez Jose L. , Kazazian Haig H. , Ewing Adam D. , Faulkner Geoffrey J.
Published: May 2017

LINE-1 (L1) retrotransposons are a noted source of genetic diversity and disease in mammals. To expand its genomic footprint, L1 must mobilize in cells that will contribute their genetic material to subsequent generations. Heritable L1 insertions may therefore arise in germ cells and in pluripotent embryonic cells, prior to germline specification, yet the frequency and predominant developmental timing of such events remain unclear. Here, we applied mouse retrotransposon capture sequencing (mRC-seq) and whole-genome sequencing (WGS) to pedigrees of C57BL/6J animals, and uncovered an L1 insertion rate of ≥1 event per eight births. We traced heritable L1 insertions to pluripotent embryonic cells and, strikingly, to early primordial germ cells (PGCs). New L1 insertions bore structural hallmarks of target-site primed reverse transcription (TPRT) and mobilized efficiently in a cultured cell retrotransposition assay. Together, our results highlight the rate and evolutionary impact of heritable L1 retrotransposition and reveal retrotransposition-mediated genomic diversification as a fundamental property of pluripotent embryonic cells in vivo.
Synthesis and characterization of a photochromic magnesium(II) coordination polymer based on a naphthalene diimide ligand
Authors: Liu Jian-Jun , Liu Teng , Huang Chang-Cang
Published: May 2017

Naphthalene diimides, which are planar, chemically robust and redox-active, are an attractive class of electron-deficient dyes, which can undergo a single reversible one-electron reduction to form stable radical anions in the presence of electron donors upon irradiation. This makes them excellent candidates for organic linkers in the construction of photochromic coordination polymers. Such a photochromic one-dimensional linear coordination polymer has been prepared using N,N′-bis(3-carboxyphenyl)naphthalene-1,8:4,5-tetracarboximide (H2BBNDI). Crystallization of H2BBNDI with magnesium nitrate in an N,N′-dimethylformamide (DMF)/ethanol/H2O mixed-solvent system under solvothermal conditions afforded the one-dimensional coordination polymer catena-poly[[bis(dimethylformamide-κO)magnesium(II)]-bis[μ-N-(3-carboxylatophenyl)-N′-(3-carboxylphenyl)naphthalene-1,8:4,5-tetracarboximide-κ2
O:O′]], [Mg(C28H13N2O8)2(C3H7NO)2]
n
. The asymmetric unit contains half of a magnesium cation, one HBBNDI− ligand and one DMF molecule. Two partially deprotonated HBBNDI− ligands bridge two magnesium cations to form a one-dimensional chain. Strong inter-chain π–π interactions between the naphthalene rings of the HBBNDI− ligand and the imide rings of adjacent chains provide a two-dimensional structure. The supramolecular three-dimensional framework is stabilized by π–π interactions between naphthalene rings of neighbouring two-dimensional supramolecular networks. The complex exhibits a reversible photochromic behaviour, which may originate from the photoinduced electron-transfer generation of radicals in the HBBNDI− ligand.
A first-prototype multi-determinant X-ray constrained wavefunction approach: the X-ray constrained extremely localized molecular orbital–valence bond method
Authors: Genoni Alessandro
Published: May 2017

All the current variants of Jayatilaka's X-ray constrained wavefunction (XCW) approach work within the framework of the single-determinant wavefunctionansatz. In this paper, a first-prototype multi-determinant XCW technique is proposed. The strategy assumes that the desired XCW is written as a valence-bond-like expansion in terms of pre-determined single Slater determinants constructed with extremely localized molecular orbitals. The method, which can be particularly suitable to investigate systems with a multi-reference character, has been applied to determine the weights of the resonance structures of naphthalene at different temperatures by exploiting experimental high-resolution X-ray diffraction data. The results obtained have shown that the explicit consideration of experimental structure factors in the determination of the resonance structure weights may lead to results significantly different compared with those resulting only from the simple energy minimization.
Crystal structure of chlorido[1-(4-nitrophenyl)thiourea-κS]bis(triphenylphosphane-κP)silver(I)
Authors: Nimthong-Roldán Arunpatcha , Sripa Paramee , Wattanakanjana Yupa
Published: May 2017

In the title compound, [AgCl(C7H7N3O2S)(C18H15P)2], the AgI ion is in a distorted tetrahedral coordination environment formed by P atoms from two triphenylphosphane ligands, one terminal S atom from the 1-(4-nitrophenyl)thiourea ligand and a chloride ion. In the crystal, bifurcated (N—H)2...Cl hydrogen bonds [with graph-set motif R
2
1(6)] connect complex molecules, forming zigzag chains along [001]. These chains are linked via weak C—H...O hydrogen bonds, forming a two-dimensional network parallel to (100). An intramolecular N—H...Cl hydrogen bond forming an S(6) ring is also observed.
Crystal structure of an apremilast ethanol hemisolvate hemihydrate solvatomorph
Authors: Wu Yun-Deng , Liu Xiao-Hong , Xu Jian , Zhang Si-Han , Shen Kun , Sun Ling , He Yong-Mei , Ma Yan , Zhang Ai-Hua
Published: May 2017

The title compound, C22H24N2O7S·0.5C2H5OH·0.5H2O {systematic name: (S)-4-acetamido-2-[1-(3-ethoxy-4-methoxyphenyl)-2-(methylsulfonyl)ethyl]isoindoline-1,3-dione ethanol hemisolvate hemihydrate}, is a novel solvatomorph of apremilast (AP), which is an inhibitor of phosphodiesterase 4 (PDE4) and is indicated for the treatment of adult patients with active psoriatic arthritis. The asymmetric unit contains one molecule of AP and disordered molecules of ethanol and water, both with half occupancy. The dihedral angle between the planes of the phenyl ring and the isoindole ring is 67.9 (2)°. Extensive intra- and intermolecular hydrogen bonds help to stabilize the molecular conformation and sustain the crystal packing.
Crystal structure of 2,2′-(ethane-1,2-diyl)bis(2,3-dihydro-1H-naphtho[1,2-e][1,3]oxazine): a prospective raw material for polybenzoxazines
Authors: Rivera Augusto , Cepeda-Santamaría Juan E. , Ríos-Motta Jaime , Bolte Michael
Published: May 2017

In the title compound, C26H24N2O2, the oxazine moiety is fused to a naphthalene ring system. The asymmetric unit consists of one half of the molecule, which lies about an inversion centre. The C atoms of the ethylene spacer group adopt an antiperiplanar arrangement. The oxazine ring adopts a half-chair conformation. In the crystal, supramolecular chains running along the b axis are formed via short C—H...π contacts. The crystal studied was a non-merohedral twin with a fractional contribution of 0.168 (2) of the minor twin component.
Crystal structure and electrochemical properties of [Ni(bztmpen)(CH3CN)](BF4)2 {bztmpen is N-benzyl-N,N′,N′-tris[(6-methylpyridin-2-yl)methyl]ethane-1,2-diamine}
Authors: Chen Lin , Ren Gan , Guo Yakun , Sang Ge
Published: May 2017

The mononuclear nickel title complex (acetonitrile-κN){N-benzyl-N,N′,N′-tris[(6-methylpyridin-2-yl)methyl]ethane-1,2-diamine}nickel(II) bis(tetrafluoridoborate), [Ni(C30H35N5)(CH3CN)](BF4)2, was prepared from the reaction of Ni(BF4)2·6H2O with N-benzyl-N,N′,N′-tris[(6-methylpyridin-2-yl)methyl]ethane-1,2-diamine (bztmpen) in acetonitrile at room temperature. With an open site occupied by the acetonitrile molecule, the nickel(II) atom is chelated by five N-atom sites from the ligand and one N atom from the ligand, showing an overall octahedral coordination environment. Compared with analogues where the 6–methyl substituent is absent, the bond length around the Ni2+ cation are evidently longer. Upon reductive dissociation of the acetronitrile molecule, the title complex has an open site for a catalytic reaction. The title complex has two redox couples at −1.50 and −1.80 V (versus F
c
+/0) based on nickel. The F atoms of the two BF4
− counter-anions are split into two groups and the occupancy ratios refined to 0.611 (18):0.389 (18) and 0.71 (2):0.29 (2).
1-[(1-{[(1S,2R,6R,8R,9S)-4,4,11,11-Tetramethyl-3,5,7,10,12-pentaoxatricyclo[7.3.0.02,6]dodecan-8-yl]methyl}-1H-1,2,3-triazol-4-yl)methyl]-2,3-dihydro-1H-indole-2,3-dione
Authors: Qachchachi Fatima-Zahrae , Mague Joel T. , Kandri Rodi Youssef , Haoudi Amal , Ben-Tama Abdeslem , Essassi El Mokhtar
Published: May 2017

The title compound,C23H26N4O7, adopts a Z-shaped conformation, with a dihedral angle between the mean planes of the dihydroindole and triazole rings of 70.36 (7)°. In the crystal, C—H...O interactions connect the molecules into zigzag chains running along theb-axis direction.
A destination’s gastronomy as a means for holiday well-being
Authors: Björk Peter , Kauppinen-Räisänen Hannele
Published: May 2017

Purpose

To provide insights into holiday well-being, the purpose of this paper is to examine two inevitable traveller activities related to destinations’ gastronomy: pre-trip food information sourcing and the daily meals consumed.

Design/methodology/approach

A survey was carried out among 243 Finnish travellers. The findings are based on univariate analysis (t-test, ANOVA and regression analysis).

Findings

Pre-trip behaviour to ensure holiday well-being is based on travellers’ interests in food, an emotional desire for a sense of safety and a functional desire for convenience, while they collect information from the internet and guidebooks about recommended food places and local food as well as food safety and price level. Travellers’ place the highest importance on dinner for their holiday well-being, especially foodies – those travellers with a keen interest in food. Breakfast is the second most important meal contributing to holiday well-being.

Practical implications

These findings inform destination marketing organisations about what food dimensions they should emphasise in destination gastronomy-related marketing communication for tour operators and hotel and local restaurants about the essence of dinner and breakfast for holiday well-being.

Originality/value

The study provides insights into the role of destinations’ gastronomy in holiday well-being, which deserves to be studied in the current era of experiences and food interest.
Consumer-perceived quality characteristics of chicken meat and chicken meat products in Southeast Europe
Authors: Skunca Dubravka , Tomasevic Igor , Zdolec Nevijo , Kolaj Rezear , Aleksiev Georgi , Djekic Ilija
Published: May 2017

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to analyse consumer perception of quality characteristics of chicken meat and chicken meat products in Southeast European countries (Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, FYR of Macedonia, Montenegro, and Serbia).

Design/methodology/approach

Results were collected from a field survey by using data obtained from a questionnaire directed at 2,368 consumers during 2015.

Findings

This study identified four consumer segments: “typical”, “selective”, “chicken meat preparers” and “uninterested” chicken meat consumers.

Originality/value

Older consumers (50 years) have higher interest in chicken meat quality characteristics, while women are “chicken meat preparers”. Chicken meat consumers who prefer particular chicken parts and consume chicken meat because it is nutritious are found among the working population, while the most number of consumers “uninterested” in chicken meat come from Serbia.
Specialty food retailing: examining the role of products’ perceived quality
Authors: Calvo-Porral Cristina , Lévy-Mangin Jean-Pierre
Published: May 2017

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to address the following issue: “Does the products’ perceived quality influences the consumer behaviour in the specialty retailing setting?”

Design/methodology/approach

For this purpose, the authors propose and empirically test a conceptual model on the creation of consumer satisfaction and loyalty in specialty retailing, to examine the influence of products’ quality perception and its potential moderating role. Data were analysed through structural equation modelling on a sample of 592 consumers

Findings

The findings show that the store-based attributes have different influence on customer satisfaction and loyalty, according to the quality perception of products, and suggest the moderating role of products’ perceived quality.

Practical implications

Retailing managers may use the product’s perceived quality as a segmentation variable in the specialty food retailing context.

Originality/value

The major contribution of this paper is the empirical analysis of one subjective customer-based variable in the specialty retailing setting.
Using the Voluntary Retirement Scheme as an HR tool
Authors: Chaudhary Narendra Singh , Bhushan Bharat
Published: May 2017

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to highlight the significance of the voluntary retirement scheme (VRS) as a management tool for organisational restructuring.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper presents the personal view of the author, based on research findings and practical experience.

Findings

The paper advances the viewpoint that to attain the competitive edge and to survive in the current turbulent times, it is essential for the management to right size their organisations. It is imperative for them to look for the right kind of strategies to overcome the redundancy. They have to choose the most viable options considering its financial and legal implications. This would not only help management in maintaining the healthy industrial relations but also enhance the overall organisational profitability and well-being.

Practical implications

The paper highlights the pros and cons of the VRS. It reflects the financial and legal implications of the same on the employer and employees in the organisations.

Originality/value

This paper depicts how VRS (acts as a management tool and helps in improving organisational efficiency. It basically talks about exercising the VRS and its related legislation in an Indian context.
Open access journals: a bibliometric study in SSCI
Authors: Ma Tsu-Jui , Lee Gwo-Guang
Published: May 2017

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to describe a bibliometric study of journal articles in Social Sciences Citation Index (SSCI) related to open access journals. Publication trends from 1993 to 2016, core journals, prolific authors and article citation frequencies were examined to provide librarians and scholars with a basic reference of relevant resources.

Design/methodology/approach

Among articles published in journals which have been listed in SSCI during 1993-2016, titles were searched for the term “open access journal”. The data were evaluated in response to five research questions concerning topics including publication trends from 1993 to 2016, core journals, prolific authors and article citation frequencies.

Findings

In total, 115 articles on open access journals were authored by 215 individuals from 1993 to 2016. The 115 articles analyzed were cited 842 times in 57 journals.

Originality/value

This paper describes a bibliometric study on open access journal publication, which has rarely been performed within the specific context of document supply issues. It provides a foundation for further research on titles as well as resources for librarians and scholars.
Resource sharing at the American University of Beirut: challenges and opportunities
Authors: Chalhoub Carla
Published: May 2017

Purpose

This study aims to determine the effectiveness of the resource sharing initiative through signing reciprocal agreements, joining consortia and subscribing to OCLC at the American University of Beirut (AUB) Libraries.

Design/methodology/approach

Statistical analysis of interlibrary loan transactions over the past five years was conducted.

Findings

Joining local, regional and international consortia, signing reciprocal agreements with two institutions and subscribing to OCLC Worldshare ILL have maximized access to resources by reducing the cost allocated to ILL and expanded the DDS services to allow unlimited requests to all members of the AUB community.

Originality/value

Academic libraries are still facing budget cuts while they are expected to deliver better services to their communities. The implication of the statistics gathered discloses a constant need for finding ways to support resource sharing and to align with the University’s mission of fostering life-long learners by supporting research and maximizing access to resources.
Graph-theoretic node importance mining in world city networks: methods and applications
Authors: Xue Shan , Xiong Li , Lu Zhao , Wu Jia
Published: May 2017

Purpose

This study aims to review the literature on graph-theoretic mining methods for node importance in both static and dynamic world city networks, which is correspondingly categorised by graph-theoretic node importance mining on network topologies and transmission mechanisms.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors overview the graph-theoretic indicators of node importance: centrality and power. Then, the methods of graph-theoretic node importance mining on network topologies are assessed with node relevance, centrality- and power-based measurements, heterogeneous fusion and other miscellaneous approaches. The latest progress in transmission mechanisms is also reviewed in this study involving network evolution, node immunisation and robustness in dynamics. Finally, the findings are analysed and future directions in this field are suggested.

Findings

The method development of node importance mining is driven by complex application-based problems within a transmission mechanism. Fusion measurements, based on centrality and power, are extended by other graph mining techniques in which power has a significant role. In conclusion, the trends of node importance mining focus on power-embedded fusion measurements in the transmission mechanism-based complex applications.

Originality/value

This is the first systematic literature review of node importance from the view of graph-theoretic mining.
A surrogate-based generic classifier for Chinese TV series reviews
Authors: Ma Yufeng , Xia Long , Shen Wenqi , Zhou Mi , Fan Weiguo
Published: May 2017

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is automatic classification of TV series reviews based on generic categories.

Design/methodology/approach

What the authors mainly applied is using surrogate instead of specific roles or actors’ name in reviews to make reviews more generic. Besides, feature selection techniques and different kinds of classifiers are incorporated.

Findings

With roles’ and actors’ names replaced by generic tags, the experimental result showed that it can generalize well to agnostic TV series as compared with reviews keeping the original names.

Research limitations/implications

The model presented in this paper must be built on top of an already existed knowledge base like Baidu Encyclopedia. Such database takes lots of work.

Practical implications

Like in digital information supply chain, if reviews are part of the information to be transported or exchanged, then the model presented in this paper can help automatically identify individual review according to different requirements and help the information sharing.

Originality/value

One originality is that the authors proposed the surrogate-based approach to make reviews more generic. Besides, they also built a review data set of hot Chinese TV series, which includes eight generic category labels for each review.
Performance and financing strategies of female and male entrepreneurs in the Republic of Serbia
Authors: Stošic Panić Danijela
Published: May 2017

Purpose

The paper examines gender differences in the performance and financing strategies of female and male entrepreneurs in the Republic of Serbia. The aim of this study is to explore the gender dimension – a much under-researched aspect of entrepreneurship in the Republic of Serbia – and to link the findings with those of other environments.

Design/methodology/approach

To explore gender-based differences in entrepreneurial activity, a random sample of 327 units was drawn from the Serbian Business Registers Agency’s Register of Companies. In total, 101 completed questionnaires were received. The chi-square test of association was used to assess the relationship between two categorical variables, while the non-parametric Mann–Whitney U test was used to assess the statistical importance of the differences between groups of female and male entrepreneurs. The relationship between the performance and different sources of financing was assessed by multiple regression analysis.

Findings

The results confirm the existence of a gender gap in the net profit, employment growth rate, return on assets (ROA) and in use of various types of alternative financing sources. The evidence shows that those male entrepreneurs who use personal funds achieve lower levels of net profit and ROA compared to those who use internal business sources. Lower ROA is also achieved by those male entrepreneurs who use alternative sources of financing, relative to those who do not use these sources. Female entrepreneurs who applied for bank loans realized higher net profit value compared to those who did not apply for a loan. Moreover, female entrepreneurs who use some kind of state-supported funding achieve higher ROA than those who do not. Other gender differences found regarding the various aspects of the financing practices lacked statistical significance.

Originality/value

Although the generalizability of part of the findings is weakened due to the lack of statistical significance, most of the expected gender differences were found to exist at the sample level. This encourages further studies of similarities and differences between female and male entrepreneurs’ financing strategies and their impact on business performance. This is particularly important for the environments in which the gender aspect of entrepreneurial activity is under-researched.
Dynamics of female-owned smallest businesses in the USA
Authors: Mijid Naranchimeg
Published: May 2017

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to answer whether the female-owned smallest firms differ from their male-owned counterparts in terms of their success and performances; if so, whether it affects banks’ loan approval decisions.

Design/methodology/approach

The study uses the Kauffman Firm Survey – the largest and longest longitudinal data which contain 4,928 new firms that started their business in the USA in 2004. The authors use two measures of median asset values to classify firms into smallest firm category. They use multiply imputed logit estimates to predict the probability of loan approval in each category.

Findings

The results show that female-owned smallest firms have significantly lower rate of loan approval. In addition, the study finds minority women owners face double burden. However, married women have significantly higher probability of loan approval. The authors’ results are robust.

Research limitations/implications

From a public policy perspective, providing equal access to credit to women business owners, especially unmarried and/or minority women, may solve the puzzle why female-owned firms are so small.

Originality/value

Although many studies examined why businesses owned by women are typically smaller compared to men-owned firms, there exist limited studies on female-owned smallest firms and why they stay smaller. This study fills the gap in the literature by examining female-owned smallest businesses.
Customer–brand engagement and Facebook fan-page “Like”-intention
Authors: Halaszovich Tilo , Nel Jacques
Published: May 2017

Purpose

The potential outcomes of social media-facilitated customer–brand relationships have prompted many firms to develop strategies that would enable them to connect with as many customers as possible through social media. Nevertheless, the marketing value of these artificial connections is questionable. Therefore, this paper aims to identify determinants of customers’ intention to connect with a brand on social media (i.e. Facebook) in the absence of “pull-strategies”.

Design/methodology/approach

In this paper, the concept of customer–brand engagement (CBE) is applied to the intentions to “Like” a brand’s Facebook fan page using structural equation modelling.

Findings

The results show that the three dimensions of CBE collectively explain about 50 per cent of the intentions to “Like” a brand’s Facebook fan page. Additionally, the results show that the influences of two of the CBE dimensions on the two “Like”-intentions are conditional effects of brand trust.

Originality/value

Because of the novelty of the CBE construct, further investigation of its application in a social media setting is lacking. To address this gap in the literature, the purpose of this paper is to investigate how CBE influences customers’ intention to “Like” a brand’s Facebook page.
Co-branding strategy in cause-related advertising: the fit between brand and cause
Authors: Huertas-García Rubén , Lengler Jorge , Consolación-Segura Carolina
Published: May 2017

Purpose

Companies are increasingly incorporating support for social causes in advertising to improve brand image and increase sales, but it is unclear how these behaviours influence purchase intentions. This paper aims to analyse this relationship from a strategic perspective to assess whether the degree of fit of any of the five strategic dimensions that Zdravkovic et al. (2010) propose influence purchase intentions synergistically.

Design/methodology/approach

This study includes two stages: a qualitative stage to build brand–cause relationships and a quantitative study of one of these relationships to examine which fit dimensions are involved and whether they generate synergy in purchase intentions.

Findings

Results demonstrate that adjustment to two of the five dimensions is sufficient to influence emotional responses positively.

Research limitations/implications

This study presents limitations, as it has been developed using a particular sample of university students.

Practical implications

These analyses provide tools for managers to verify which types of strategic fit operate in this relationship and facilitate co-branding planning to achieve financial goals.

Originality/value

The analysis provides tools for managers to verify which types of strategic fit operate in this relationship and facilitate co-branding planning to achieve financial goals.
Newspaper reporting of mental illness
Authors: Ottewell Namino
Published: May 2017

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine a time trend in newspaper reporting of mental illness in Japan between 1987 and 2014.

Design/methodology/approach

Four high-circulation national newspapers (theYomiurinewspaper, theAsahinewspaper, theMainichinewspaper and theNikkeiNewspaper) were selected for analysis. Articles were analysed using qualitative content analysis (n=448).

Findings

Whilst articles concerning the dangerousness of those with mental illness occupied a high proportion of coverage between 1987 and 2014, an overall shift is apparent whereby there is now more reporting of mental illness in relation to stress than in relation to dangerousness, particularly for depression. In contrast, schizophrenia was often reported in the context of violent crime. Information on the treatment, symptoms and prevalence of mental illness was rarely reported.

Social implications

While the nature of newspaper coverage of mental illness has been changing, there still is over-representation of dangerousness of mental illness, particularly of schizophrenia. For improving the public’s images of mental illness, it is hoped to reduce the proportion of reporting about dangerousness and to increase the proportion of reporting about treatment, symptoms and prevalence of mental illness and personal stories of those affected.

Originality/value

The present study is the first to examine changes in Japanese newspaper coverage over time and at the variation in reporting among diagnoses.
Recognizing human concurrent activities using wearable sensors: a statistical modeling approach based on parallel HMM
Authors: Wang Zhelong , Chen Ye
Published: May 2017

Purpose

In sensor-based activity recognition, most of the previous studies focused on single activities such as body posture, ambulation and simple daily activities. Few works have been done to analyze complex concurrent activities. The purpose of this paper is to use a statistical modeling approach to classify them.

Design/methodology/approach

In this study, the recognition problem of concurrent activities is explored with the framework of parallel hidden Markov model (PHMM), where two basic HMMs are used to model the upper limb movements and lower limb states, respectively. Statistical time-domain and frequency-domain features are extracted, and then processed by the principal component analysis method for classification. To recognize specific concurrent activities, PHMM merges the information (by combining probabilities) from both channels to make the final decision.

Findings

Four studies are investigated to validate the effectiveness of the proposed method. The results show that PHMM can classify 12 daily concurrent activities with an average recognition rate of 93.2 per cent, which is superior to regular HMM and several single-frame classification approaches.

Originality/value

A statistical modeling approach based on PHMM is investigated, and it proved to be effective in concurrent activity recognition. This might provide more accurate feedback on people’s behaviors.

Practical implications

The research may be significant in the field of pervasive healthcare, supporting a variety of practical applications such as elderly care, ambient assisted living and remote monitoring.
A low power mixed signal correlator for power efficient sound signature detection and template matching
Authors: Habibi Mehdi , Shakarami Mohammad , Khoddami Ali Asghar
Published: May 2017

Purpose

Sensor networks have found wide applications in the monitoring of environmental events such as temperature, earthquakes, fire and pollution. A major challenge with sensor network hardware is their limited available energy resource, which makes the low power design of these sensors important. This paper aims to present a low power sensor which can detect sound waveform signatures.

Design/methodology/approach

A novel mixed signal hardware is presented to correlate the received sound signal with a specific sound signal template. The architecture uses pulse width modulation and a single bit digital delay line to propagate the input signal over time and analog current multiplier units to perform template matching with low power usage.

Findings

The proposed method is evaluated for a chainsaw signature detection application in forest environments, under different supply voltage values, input signal quantization levels and also different template sample points. It is observed that an appropriate combination of these parameters can optimize the power and accuracy of the presented method.

Originality/value

The proposed mixed signal architecture allows voltage and power reduction compared with conventional methods. A network of these sensors can be used to detect sound signatures in energy limited environments. Such applications can be found in the detection of chainsaw and gunshot sounds in forests to prevent illegal logging and hunting activities.
An efficient FDIR strategy on nonlinear processes of self-validating multifunctional sensors
Authors: Yang Jingli , Sun Zhen , Chen Yinsheng
Published: May 2017

Purpose

This paper aims to enhance the reliability of self-validating multifunctional sensors.

Design/methodology/approach

An effective fault detection, isolation and data recovery (FDIR) strategy by using kernel principal component analysis (KPCA) coupled with gray bootstrap and fault reconstruction methods.

Findings

The proposed FDIR strategy is able to the address fault detection, isolation and data recovery problem of self-validating multifunctional sensors efficiently.

Originality/value

A KPCA-based model which can overcome the limitation of existing linear-based models is used to achieve the fault detection task. By using gray bootstrap method, the position of all faulty sensitive units can be calculated even under the multiple faults situation. A reconstruction-based contribution method is adopted to evaluate the amplitudes of the fault signals, and the fault-free output of the faulty sensitive units can be used to replace the fault output.
A MEMS flow velocity sensor with low kinetic energy dissipation rate
Authors: Tian Bian , Li Huafeng , Yang Ning , Zhao Yulong , Chen Pei , Liu Hanyue
Published: May 2017

Purpose

It is significant to know the real-time indexes about the turbulence flow of the ocean system, which has a deep influence on ocean productivity, distribution of the ocean populations and transmission of the ocean energy, especially the measurement of turbulence flow velocity. So, it is particularly urgent to provide a high-sensitivity, low-cost and reliable fluid flow sensor for industry and consumer product application. This paper aims to design a micro fluid flow sensor with a cross beam membrane structure. The designed sensor can detect the fluid flow velocity and has a low kinetic energy dissipation rate.

Design/methodology/approach

In this paper, a micro fluid flow sensor with a cross beam membrane structure is designed to measure the ocean turbulence flow velocity. The design, simulation, fabrication and measurement of the designed sensor are discussed. By testing the simply packaged sensor in the fluid flow and analyzing the experiments data, the results show that the designed sensor has favorable performance.

Findings

The paper describes the tests of the designed sensor, and the experimental results show that the designed sensor can measure the fluid flow velocity and has a sensitivity of 11.12 mV/V/(m/s)2 and a low kinetic energy dissipation rate in the range of 10-6-10-4 W/kg.

Originality/value

This paper provides a micro-electro-mechanical systems fluid flow sensor used to measure ocean turbulence flow velocity.
A comprehensive review of fuzzy-based clustering techniques in wireless sensor networks
Authors: Singh Manjeet , Soni Surender Kumar
Published: May 2017

Purpose

This paper aims to discuss a comprehensive survey on fuzzy-based clustering techniques. The determination of an appropriate sensor node as a cluster head straightforwardly affects a network’s lifetime. Clustering often possesses some uncertainties in determining suitable sensor nodes as a cluster head. Owing to various variables, selection of a suitable node as a cluster head is a perplexing decision. Fuzzy logic is capable of handling uncertainties and improving decision-making processes even with insufficient information. Then, state-of-the-art research in the field of clustering techniques has been reviewed.

Design/methodology/approach

The literature is presented in a tabular form with merits and limitations of each technique. Furthermore, the various techniques are compared graphically and classified in a tabular form and the flowcharts of important algorithms are presented with pseudocodes.

Findings

This paper comprehends the importance and distinction of different fuzzy-based clustering methods which are further supportive in designing more efficient clustering protocols.

Originality/value

This paper fulfills the need of a review paper in the field of fuzzy-based clustering techniques because no other paper has reviewed all the fuzzy-based clustering techniques. Furthermore, none of them has presented literature in a tabular form or presented flowcharts with pseudocodes of important techniques.
Predicting the consequences of disperser extinction: richness matters the most when abundance is low
Authors: Rumeu Beatriz , Devoto Mariano , Traveset Anna , Olesen Jens M. , Vargas Pablo , Nogales Manuel , Heleno Ruben
Published: May 2017

The ongoing biodiversity crisis entails the concomitant loss of species and the ecological services they provide. Global defaunation, and particularly the loss of frugivores, may negatively affect the seed dispersal of fleshy‐fruited plant species, with predictable stronger impacts in simplified communities such as those on oceanic islands. However, logistical difficulties have hindered the experimental and theoretical need to disentangle the roles of species identity, richness (i.e. number of species) and abundance. Consequently, studies to date have focused exclusively on the loss of species richness leaving us largely ignorant regarding how species identity and abundance affect the loss of ecosystem functions.

Here, we applied a network approach to disentangle the effects of disperser abundance, richness and identity on the seed dispersal service provided by frugivores to the Galapagos plant community.

We found that both abundance and richness of the dispersers significantly affect the function of seed dispersal and that richness becomes increasingly important as disperser abundance declines. Extinction simulations revealed that the order of species loss has profound implications to the plant community. On the one hand, abundant generalist dispersers like the Galapagos lizards, can mitigate the loss of specialized dispersers. On the other hand, specific threats affecting key dispersers can lead to the rapid collapse of the community‐level dispersal services.

Our results suggest that the identity of the disperser species lost can have a large effect on the number of plant species dispersed, and generalist species are essential to the persistence of the community dispersal service. Both abundance and species richness of seed dispersers are key and synergistic drivers of the number of plant species dispersed. Consequently, the coupled negative effect of population declines and species extinctions in frugivore assemblages may lead to an accelerated loss of the seed dispersal function.

plain language summary
is available for this article.
A dynamical model for invasive round goby populations reveals efficient and effective management options
Authors: N'Guyen Anouk , Hirsch Philipp E. , Bozzuto Claudio , Adrian‐Kalchhauser Irene , Hôrková Kristína , Burkhardt‐Holm Patricia
Published: May 2017

When prevention of invasive species’ introductions fails, society faces the challenge to manage invasive species in an effective and efficient way. The success of this depends on biological aspects and on cooperation between decision makers and scientists. Using the case of the round goby Neogobius melanostomus, one of Europe's “worst invasive species”, we propose an approach guiding scientists to co‐produce effective and efficient population control measures in collaboration with decision makers.

We surveyed the effectiveness, urgency and simplicity perceived by decision makers as well as the support of two population control options: removal of eggs and/or adults. Using a field study and a dynamical population model, we investigated the effectiveness and efficiency for both options in different population contexts.

Decision makers initially seemed to lack a clear preference for either control option. After being presented with preliminary field and modelling results, decision makers mostly approved measures being developed to implement the two control options.

Starting population control early after detecting the species requires in total fewer years for eradication than controlling an established population: to reach an eradication success rate of 95%, 13 years for early start vs. 18 years for late start are needed when removing eggs and adults; when removing adults only, 20 vs. 29 years are needed. Removing eggs and adults combined results in a yearly effort of 5.01 h/m2, while removing adults only results in a yearly effort of 1.76 h/m2. Thus, removing adults only proves to be the most efficient option to eradicate the population. Nonetheless, considerable effort is needed: when removing less than 57% of the adult population, eradication is not feasible, even assuming low survival and fecundity rates for the population. Furthermore, inflow of new propagules renders eradication efforts ineffective.

Synthesis and applications. Scientists who aim to support decision makers in finding an optimal control strategy for invasive species need to be able to provide scientific knowledge on effectiveness and efficiency of different options. For round goby and most non‐native species, eradication is only feasible if started early in recently arrived populations and if inflow of new propagules can be prevented.
Production of a fungal furocoumarin by a polyketide synthase gene cluster confers the chemo‐resistance of Neurospora crassa to the predation by fungivorous arthropods
Authors: Zhao Yanxia , Ding Jianing , Yuan Weihua , Huang Jinjin , Huang Wenxiu , Wang Yan , Zheng Weifa
Published: May 2017

The formation of sexual fruiting bodies and production of polyketides are believed to be the most important strategies for fungal survival in environmental insults. In Neurospora crassa, the backbone gene of polyketide synthase gene cluster 6 (pks‐6), which is expressed at lower level under vegetative growth, is highly expressed during perithecia development. Intriguingly, deletion of pks‐6 does not affect perithecia maturation. How the expression of pks‐6 correlates with fungal sexual development remains to be established. Here, we showed that overexpression of pks‐6 results in an enhanced production of an insecticidal furocoumarin (neurosporin A). Deletion of pks‐6, however, abolished neurosporin A biosynthesis. Moreover, the content of neurosporin A negatively associates with the food preference of fungivores, where the pks‐6 knockout strain is more prone to be grazed by collembolans Sinella curviseta. Additionally, during vegetative growth, confrontation with Drosophila melanogaster also results in an enhanced expression of pks‐6 and production of neurosporin A. Thus, high expression of pks‐6 positively interrelates with the chemo‐resistance of N. crassa to arthropod predation. Our findings suggest that pks‐6 confers the production of insecticidal neurosporin A counteracting the feeding attack by arthropods during sexual development of N. crassa.
Tenant Protection, Temporal Vacancy and Frequent Reconstruction in the Rental Housing Market
Authors: Suzuki Masatomo , Asami Yasushi
Published: May 2017

In Japan, tenants are protected in the sense that owners must compensate them for evicting them against their will, while owners cannot foresee the intended tenure length of prospective tenants. If owners cannot specify the term of a lease, social inefficiency emerges: (i) detached houses owned by individual households remain vacant for a certain period; (ii) alternatively, landlords’ newly constructed apartments, which are free from eviction risk, accommodate a large proportion of tenants; and (iii) the apartments are rebuilt frequently even though they remain viable. If a fixed‐term contract is available, only short‐term tenants choose it, and the information asymmetry is dissolved, realizing social efficiency.
Effects of Aphidius gifuensis on the feeding behavior and potato virus Y transmission ability of Myzus persicae
Authors: He Ying‐Qin , Zhang Yong‐Qiang , Chen Juan‐Ni , Chen Wen‐Long , Zeng Xian‐Yi , Chen Hai‐Tao , Ding Wei
Published: May 2017

The stylet penetration behavior of aphids when feeding on plants is associated with virus acquisition and inoculation. Aphidius gifuensis (Ashmead) is a primary endoparasitoid of Myzus persicae (Sulzer) which is the most efficient vector of plant viruses. Information about the effects of parasitoid on aphid and virus transmission can provide an essential foundation for designing effective biological control strategies. This study aimed to investigate the effects of A. gifuensis on the feeding behavior and potato virus Y (PVY) transmission ability of M. persicae. The results showed that after M. persicae was parasitized by A. gifuensis, the duration of the first probe significantly decreased. Additionally, A. gifuensis exerted remarkable effects on aphid feeding in phloem ingestion. The contribution of the E1 waveform to the phloem phase was significantly higher in all parasitized aphids than in the control group. Although the time of infestation increased for parasitized aphids, the total duration of phloem sap ingestion decreased. Interestingly, the percentage of time M. persicae spent in the xylem and phloem phases only changed significantly on day 5. The percent transmission of PVY by the aphids parasitized on day 5 was lower than that in the control, but no significant differences were detected. The significance of this work is the demonstration that A. gifuensis can impede the feeding behavior of M. persicae, which sheds light on the biological basis of A. gifuensis as a natural enemy, but unfortunately does not provide an immediate solution for disrupting the transmission of PVY.