bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Naringenin downregulates inflammation-mediated nitric oxide overproduction and potentiates endogenous antioxidant status during hyperglycemia
Authors: Rehman Kanwal , Khan Ikram Ilahee , Akash Muhammad Sajid Hamid , Jabeen Komal , Haider Kamran , Tariq Muhammad
Published: April 2020

Nitric oxide (NO) is a key regulating factor for physiological functions, when elevated during inflammatory conditions can lower endogenous antioxidant levels. Increased NO interacts with oxygen or other ROS to generate peroxynitrite, a potent oxidant which induces oxidative stress. Analgesic effects of naringenin (NRN), a flavanone has been demonstrated by inducing anti-inflammatory effects in O2−•-mediated inflammation. NRN stimulates antioxidant enzymes and also improves glucose uptake. Hence this study was designed to look for therapeutic effects of NRN and in comparison, to metformin (MET) on inflammation-mediated increased NO and decreased antioxidant superoxide dismutase (SOD) in diabetic rat model with compromised glycemic and lipid profile. After single intraperitoneal injection of alloxan (120 mg/kg), the rats were equally divided as Group 1 and 2 which received normal saline and no-treatment respectively while group 3 and 4 received MET 50 mg/kg/day and NRN 50 mg/kg/day respectively. Blood samples were collected at 0, 15thand 30thday of treatment period. Results showed that alloxan significantly increased serum level of glucose (P<0.001), NO (P<0.001) and inflammatory biomarkers (TNF-α, IL-6), however, it expressively decreased serum SOD and insulin level. While, NRN significantly downregulated glucose (P<0.05), lipid profile, TNF-α, IL-6 and normalized level of NO (P<0.01). It also improved SOD level as compared to that of MET-treatment. Histopathology of pancreas also showed significant improvement in morphology after NRN treatment. This work delivers that NRN exerts anti-oxidant effect in part by downregulating the inflammation-mediated NO overproduction and improving level of SOD resulting in potentiation of endogenous antioxidant defense.
Predicting Longitudinal Disease Severity for Individuals with Parkinson’s Disease using Functional MRI and Machine Learning Prognostic Models
Authors: Nguyen Kevin P. , Raval Vyom , Treacher Alex , Mellema Cooper , Yu Frank , Pinho Marco C. , Subramaniam Rathan M. , Dewey Richard B. , Montillo Albert
Published: April 2020

Parkinson’s disease is the second most common neurodegenerative disorder and is characterized by the loss of ability to control voluntary movements. Predictive biomarkers of progression in Parkinson’s Disease are urgently needed to expedite the development of neuroprotective treatments and facilitate discussions about disease prognosis between clinicians and patients. Resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rs-fMRI) shows promise in predicting progression, with derived measures, including regional homogeneity (ReHo) and fractional amplitude of low frequency fluctuations (fALFF), having been previously been associated withcurrentdisease severity. In this work, ReHo and fALFF features from 82 Parkinson’s Disease subjects are used to train machine learning predictors of baseline clinical severity and progression at 1 year, 2 years, and 4 years follow-up as measured by the Movement Disorder Society Unified Depression Rating Scale (MDS-UPDRS) score. This is the first time that rs-fMRI and machine learning have been combined to predictfuturedisease progression. The machine learning models explain up to 30.4% (R2= 0.304) of the variance in baseline MDS-UPDRS scores, 55.8% (R2= 0.558) of the variance in year 1 scores, and 47.1% (R2= 0.471) of the variance in year 2 scores with high statistical significance (p <0.0001). For distinguishing high- and low-progression individuals (MDS-UPDRS score above or below the median), the models achieve positive predictive values of up to 71% and negative predictive values of up to 84%. The models learn patterns of ReHo and fALFF measures that predict better and worse prognoses. Higher ReHo and fALFF in regions of the default motor network predicted lower current severity and lower future progression. The rs-fMRI features in the temporal lobe, limbic system, and motor cortex were also identified as predictors. These results present a potential neuroimaging biomarker that accurately predicts progression, which may be useful as a clinical decision-making tool and in future trials of neuroprotective treatments.
Limited SARS-CoV-2 diversity within hosts and following passage in cell culture
Authors: Moreno Gage K. , Braun Katarina M. , Halfmann Peter J. , Prall Trent M. , Riemersma Kasen K. , Haj Amelia K. , Lalli Joseph , Florek Kelsey R. , Kawaoka Yoshihiro , Friedrich Thomas C. , O’Connor David H.
Published: April 2020

Since the first reports of pneumonia associated with a novel coronavirus (COVID-19) emerged in Wuhan, Hubei province, China, there have been considerable efforts to sequence the causative virus, SARS-CoV-2 (also referred to as hCoV-19) and to make viral genomic information available quickly on shared repositories. As of 30 March 2020, 7,680 consensus sequences have been shared on GISAID, the principal repository for SARS-CoV-2 genetic information. These sequences are primarily consensus sequences from clinical and passaged samples, but few reports have looked at diversity of virus populations within individual hosts or cultures. Understanding such diversity is essential to understanding viral evolutionary dynamics. Here, we characterize within-host viral diversity from a primary isolate and passaged samples, all originally deriving from an individual returning from Wuhan, China, who was diagnosed with COVID-19 and subsequently sampled in Wisconsin, United States. We use a metagenomic approach with Oxford Nanopore Technologies (ONT) GridION in combination with Illumina MiSeq to capture minor within-host frequency variants ≥1%. In a clinical swab obtained from the day of hospital presentation, we identify 15 single nucleotide variants (SNVs) ≥1% frequency, primarily located in the largest gene – ORF1a. While viral diversity is low overall, the dominant genetic signatures are likely secondary to population size changes, with some evidence for mild purifying selection throughout the genome. We see little to no evidence for positive selection or ongoing adaptation of SARS-CoV-2 within cell culture or in the primary isolate evaluated in this study.

Author Summary

Within-host variants are critical for addressing molecular evolution questions, identifying selective pressures imposed by vaccine-induced immunity and antiviral therapeutics, and characterizing interhost dynamics, including the stringency and character of transmission bottlenecks. Here, we sequenced SARS-CoV-2 viruses isolated from a human host and from cell culture on three distinct Vero cell lines using Illumina and ONT technologies. We show that SARS-CoV-2 consensus sequences can remain stable through at least two serial passages on Vero 76 cells, suggesting SARS-CoV-2 can be propagated in cell culture in preparation forin-vitroandin-vivostudies without dramatic alterations of its genotype. However, we emphasize the need to deep-sequence viral stocks prior to use in experiments to characterize sub-consensus diversity that may alter outcomes.
A neural representation of invisibility: when stimulus-specific neural activity negatively correlates with conscious experience
Authors: Davidson Matthew J , Mithen Will , Hogendoorn Hinze , van Boxtel Jeroen J.A. , Tsuchiya Naotsugu
Published: April 2020

Although visual awareness of an object typically increases neural responses, we identify a neural response that increases prior to perceptualdisappearances, and that scales with the amount of invisibility reported during perceptual filling-in. These findings challenge long-held assumptions regarding the neural correlates of consciousness and entrained visually evoked potentials, by showing that the strength of stimulus-specific neural activity can encode the conscious absence of a stimulus.

Significance Statement

The focus of attention and the contents of consciousness frequently overlap. Yet what happens if this common correlation is broken? To test this, we asked human participants to attend and report on the invisibility of four visual objects which seemed to disappear, yet actually remained on screen. We found that neural activity increased, rather than decreased, when targets became invisible. This coincided with measures of attention that also increased when stimuli disappeared. Together, our data support recent suggestions that attention and conscious perception are distinct and separable. In our experiment, neural measures more strongly follow attention.
Structure-seq2 probing of RNA structure upon amino acid starvation reveals both known and novel RNA switches inBacillus subtilis
Authors: Ritchey Laura E. , Tack David C. , Yakhnin Helen , Jolley Elizabeth A. , Assmann Sarah M. , Bevilacqua Philip C. , Babitzke Paul
Published: April 2020

RNA structure influences numerous processes in all organisms. In bacteria, these processes include transcription termination and attenuation, small RNA and protein binding, translation initiation, and mRNA stability, and can be regulated via metabolite availability and other stresses. Here we use Structure-seq2 to probe the in vivo RNA structurome ofBacillus subtilisgrown in the presence and absence of amino acids. Our results reveal that amino acid starvation results in lower overall dimethyl sulfate (DMS) reactivity of the transcriptome, indicating enhanced protection owing to protein binding or RNA structure. Starvation-induced changes in DMS reactivity correlated inversely with transcript abundance changes. This correlation was particularly pronounced in genes associated with the stringent response and CodY regulons, which are involved in adaptation to nutritional stress, suggesting that RNA structure contributes to transcript abundance change in regulons involved in amino acid metabolism. Structure-seq2 accurately reported on four known amino acid-responsive riboswitches: T-box, SAM, glycine, and lysine riboswitches. Additionally, we discovered a transcription attenuation mechanism that reducesyfmGexpression when amino acids are added to the growth medium. We also found that translation of a leader peptide (YfmH) encoded just upstream ofyfmGregulatesyfmGexpression. Our results are consistent with a model in which a slow rate ofyfmHtranslation caused by limitation of the amino acids encoded in YfmH prevents transcription termination in theyfmGleader region by favoring formation of an overlapping antiterminator structure. This novel RNA switch offers a way to simultaneously monitor the levels of multiple amino acids.
Impact of store-attributes on food and grocery shopping behavior: insights from an emerging market context
Authors: Nair Suja R. , Shams S.M. Riad
Published: April 2020

Purpose

In recent years, while the food and grocery retail in developed markets like Western Europe seem to be slowly facing saturation, it has been steadily growing in the Asia–Pacific region markets like India. This is mainly due to the emergence of modern retail and the changing consumer dynamics. This study purposes to assesses whether food and grocery (F&G) shoppers in India are strongly influenced by store-attributes.

Design/methodology/approach

Descriptive research design, a cross-sectional survey involving 346 respondents (households) from metropolitan Bengaluru, participated in the study. Data is analyzed with SPSS 21, involving descriptive analysis, 1-way Anova, and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), which appears useful to confirm the theoretical structure used for the study.

Findings

Store-attributes – atmosphere, promotion, convenience, facilities, merchandise, store personnel interaction and services affect F&G store choice decisions. Additionally, significant difference is found in the way respondents perceive the sub-constructs of store-attributes, based on age.

Practical implications

The study contributes to the theoretical knowledge on store-attributes and dynamic socio-demographic influences on store choices. It has managerial implications to encourage global retailers use knowledge on store-attributes influences to initiate effective communication and promotion strategies and work at customer relationship management (CRM) that earn profitably in the long run.

Originality/value

Today, connected consumers seek shopping experiences that blend physical stores-attributes with other retail formats offerings. This research paper provides insights on shopper expectations of store-attributes, which could be used by global retailers to create delightful shopping experiences and to build CRM, especially when “experience per square foot” is used to measure the retailer's performance.
The little engine that could: the impact of psychological empowerment on organizational citizenship behavior
Authors: Turnipseed David L. , VandeWaa Elizabeth A.
Published: April 2020

Purpose

The study examines the relationships between the dimensions of psychological empowerment and organizational citizenship behavior (OCB). The purpose is to identify specific dimensions of psychological empowerment that are linked to above average or “beyond the expected” citizenship behaviors.

Design/methodology/approach

A theoretical basis for a linkage between the four dimensions of psychological empowerment and dimensions of OCB was developed. Using a sample of 137 participants, these theoretical relationships were tested with hierarchical linear multiple regressions.

Findings

There are differential relationships between the dimensions of psychological empowerment and the dimensions of OCB. The OCB dimensions of contentiousness, altruism and obedience are linked to the psychological empowerment dimension of meaning: conscientiousness is also linked to competency.

Research limitations/implications

The study sample was single industry and single organization to avoid interindustry and interorganizational contamination, and the results may lack generalizability. Therefore, researchers are encouraged to test the study hypotheses in other industries and occupations.

Practical implications

The study sample was single industry and single organization to avoid interindustry and interorganizational contamination, and the results may lack generalizability. Therefore, researchers are encouraged to test the study hypotheses in other industries and occupations.

Originality/value

This paper reports the first known study of the relationships between Spreitzer's psychological empowerment dimensions and OCB. The value is the identification of manipulable relationships that can explain actual empowerment and provide pragmatic guidance for managers to increase empowerment and thus hopefully organizational effectiveness.
A two-stage EBM-based approach to evaluate operational performance of unattended convenience store
Authors: Yao Liming , Shuai Yuhong , Chen Xudong , Xiao Anran
Published: April 2020

Purpose

Due to recent technological advances, the retail industry has changed significantly. This paper examines a novel unmanned retail mode-unattended convenience store to identify the possible operational problems and develop appropriate managerial recommendations.

Design/methodology/approach

A data-driven two-stage epsilon-based measure (EBM) data envelopment analysis (DEA) method was developed to evaluate operational performance data from 33 unattended convenience stores and assess the impacts on efficiency of the internal factors, and a Tobit regression analysis was employed to examine the external environment.

Findings

It was found that the overall economic performances were relatively low and fluctuated significantly; however, the social performances were slightly higher. The out-of-stock rate was found to have a negative impact on efficiency, and regional characteristics were found to have significant effects on performance.

Practical implications

This study sought to identify current operational problems with unattended convenience stores to provide managerial insights. The cross-sectional assessment suggested that to achieve better performance, particular attention needed to be paid to store locations and surrounding store environments.

Originality/value

First, this paper establishes a novel theoretical framework to evaluate the economic and social operational performances at unattended convenience stores. Second, it contributes to research on unattended convenience stores and the unmanned retail industry and offers significant guidance on detecting operational deficiencies and improving future performances.
Does corporate investment efficiency affect corporate disclosure practices?
Authors: Elberry Noha , Hussainey Khaled
Published: April 2020

Purpose

The authors examine the impact of corporate investment efficiency on corporate voluntary disclosure for a sample of UK non-financial companies.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors use a sample of FTSE All-Share firms for the period of 2007–2014. Disclosure scores are collected from Corporate Financial Information Environment (CFIE). They follow Biddle et al. (2009) and Chen et al. (2011) in measuring corporate investment efficiency.

Findings

The authors find that high level of performance-related disclosure is associated with high level of corporate investment efficiency, while high level of good news information is associated with low level of corporate investment efficiency. They also find evidence on a bidirectional relation between disclosure and corporate investment efficiency.

Research limitations/implications

The authors’ findings would be of importance to stakeholders and corporations. Stakeholders' investment decisions could be facilitated by understanding the disclosures provided by their firms and how these firms' performance is presented. Corporations become aware of the language which must be used to signal their performance.

Practical implications

Corporations become aware of the language which must be used in their disclosures. As firms may reflect their efficient investments but not in the form of good news in order to avoid revealing their competitive advantage to competitors.

Originality/value

This paper adds to disclosure studies by introducing a new variable, corporate investment efficiency, as a determinant of corporate disclosure practice.
Engaging ignored stakeholders of higher education accessibility practice: analysing the experiences of an international network of practitioners and researchers
Authors: Seale Jane , King Laura , Jorgensen Mary , Havel Alice , Asuncion Jennison , Fichten Catherine
Published: April 2020

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine and critique current approaches of higher education (HE) community concerning stakeholder engagement in the development of information and communications technology (ICT) related accessibility practice.

Design/methodology/approach

The approach taken to this examination is to draw on presentations, panel discussions and World Café reflections from an international symposium held in Montreal where researchers and practitioners debated two key questions as follows: have all the relevant stakeholders really been identified? Are there some stakeholders that the HE community has ignored? And what factors influence successfully distributed ownership of the accessibility mission within HE institutions?

Findings

A number of “new” internal and external stakeholders are identified and it is argued that if they are to be successfully engaged, effort needs to be invested in addressing power imbalances and developing opportunities for successful strategic silo-crossing.

Originality/value

The value of this paper is in critiquing the argument that all stakeholders in the development of accessible ICT in HE need to be involved, identifying a gap in the argument with respect to whether all relevant stakeholders have actually been engaged and offering insights into this omission might be rectified.
Disruptive product development for online fast fashion retailers
Authors: Parker-Strak Rachel , Barnes Liz , Studd Rachel , Doyle Stephen
Published: April 2020

Purpose

This research critically investigates product development in the context of fast fashion online retailers who are developing “own label” fashion clothing. With a focus upon inputs, outputs, planning and management in order to comprehensively map the interplay of people, processes and the procedures of the product development process adopted.

Design/methodology/approach

Qualitative research method was employed. Face-to-face semi structured in depth interviews were conducted with key informants from market leading fast fashion online retailers in the UK.

Findings

The major findings of this research demonstrate the disruptions in the product development process in contemporary and challenging fashion retailing and a new “circular process” model more appropriate and specific to online fast fashion businesses is presented.

Research limitations/implications

The research has implications for the emerging body of theory relating to fashion product development. The research is limited to UK online fashion retailers, although their operations are global.

Practical implications

The findings from this study may be useful for apparel product development for retailers considering an online and fast fashion business model.

Originality/value

The emergent process model in this study may be used as a baseline for further studies to compare product development processes.
Big data for small and medium-sized enterprises (SME): a knowledge management model
Authors: Wang Shouhong , Wang Hai
Published: April 2020

Purpose

Big data has raised challenges and opportunities for business, the information technology (IT) industry and research communities. Nowadays, small and medium-sized enterprises (SME) are dealing with big data using their limited resources. The purpose of this paper is to describe the synergistic relationship between big data and knowledge management (KM), analyze the challenges and IT solutions of big data for SME and derives a KM model of big data for SME based on the collected real-world business cases.

Design/methodology/approach

The study collects eight well-documented cases of successful big data analytics in SME and conducts a qualitative data analysis of these cases in the context of KM. The qualitative data analysis of the multiple cases reveals a KM model of big data for SME.

Findings

The proposed model portrays the synergistic relationship between big data and KM. It indicates that strategic use of data, knowledge guided big data project planning, IT solutions for SME and new knowledge products are the major constructs of KM of big data for SME. These constructs form a loop through the causal relationships between them.

Research limitations/implications

The number of cases used for the derivation of the KM model is not large. The coding of these qualitative data could involve biases and errors. Consequently, the conceptual KM model proposed in this paper is subject to further verification and validation.

Practical implications

The proposed model can guide SME to exploit big data for business by placing emphasis on KM instead of sophisticated IT techniques or the magnitude of data.

Originality/value

The study contributes to the KM literature by developing a theoretical model of KM of big data for SME based on underlying dimensions of strategic use of data, knowledge guided big data project planning, IT solutions for SME and new knowledge products.
Measuring the human capital of scientists in the principal investigator role
Authors: Foncubierta-Rodríguez Maria José , Martín-Alcázar Fernando , Perea-Vicente José Luis
Published: April 2020

Purpose

There is an emerging literature on scientists in the principal investigator (PI) role that identifies them as central and key actors in entrepreneurial ecosystems. PIs in leading large-scale public research programmes and teams require an array of skills and abilities to be effective in this role. The purpose of this paper is to propose a human capital (HC) measurement scale that can unearth their competencies at the micro level, since there is no specific measurement scale specifically for PIs.

Design/methodology/approach

The proposed model was reached relying on both qualitative and quantitative methodologies, to then apply exploratory factor analysis (EPT) and confirmatory factor analysis (AFC) to verify its suitability, as well as its internal consistency and reliability using appropriate indices.

Findings

The proposed model is composed of six PI's HC factors, such as research knowledge, open-mind research ability, research perform ability, stoic research skill, innovation skill and critical skill.

Originality/value

In proposing this, this paper advances micro-level understanding of the competencies that PIs require to be effective in the role, and answers the call for deeper research on these crucial actors. Shedding light on this issue is beneficial for not only the administrators of the universities, the research centres or the funding agencies to obtain further essential information in selecting the best-qualified person, but also to self-evaluate their skills, abilities and knowledge so that they can direct their efforts towards improving the weak aspects of their HC. Furthermore, it can be an additional useful criterion for defining the career plans of PIs or their promotion policies.
Big data approaches to develop a comprehensive and accurate tool aimed at improving autism spectrum disorder diagnosis and subtype stratification
Authors: Chen Tao , Froehlich Tanya , Li Tingyu , Lu Long
Published: April 2020

Purpose

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a complex neurodevelopmental disorder that is difficult to diagnose accurately due to its heterogeneous clinical manifestations. Comprehensive models combining different big data approaches (e.g. neuroimaging, genetics, eye tracking, etc.) may offer the opportunity to characterize ASD from multiple distinct perspectives. This paper aims to provide an overview of a novel diagnostic approach for ASD classification and stratification based on these big data approaches.

Design/methodology/approach

Multiple types of data were collected and recorded for three consecutive years, including clinical assessment, neuroimaging, gene mutation and expression and response signal data. The authors propose to establish a classification model for predicting ASD clinical diagnostic status by integrating the various data types. Furthermore, the authors suggest a data-driven approach to stratify ASD into subtypes based on genetic and genomic data.

Findings

By utilizing complementary information from different types of ASD patient data, the proposed integration model has the potential to achieve better prediction performance than models focusing on only one data type. The use of unsupervised clustering for the gene-based data-driven stratification will enable identification of more homogeneous subtypes. The authors anticipate that such stratification will facilitate a more consistent and personalized ASD diagnostic tool.

Originality/value

This study aims to utilize a more comprehensive investigation of ASD-related data types than prior investigations, including proposing longitudinal data collection and a storage scheme covering diverse populations. Furthermore, this study offers two novel diagnostic models that focus on case-control status prediction and ASD subtype stratification, which have been under-explored in the prior literature.
Assessing sustainable consumption practices on cruise ships
Authors: Tsai Feng-Ming , Bui Tat-Dat
Published: April 2020

Purpose

This study aims to examine a hierarchical framework for sustainable consumption (SC) for cruise ships and identify the causal relationships and decisive attributes of cruise ship operation practices that allow cruise organizations to achieve a higher level of sustainable performance.

Design/methodology/approach

This study applies a hybrid of the Delphi method and a fuzzy decision-making trial and evaluation laboratory (DEMATEL). DEMATEL methodology helps to construct complex causal relations through digraphs, which depict interrelationships among attributes. The fuzzy set theory assesses experts’ perceptions of attributes given in linguistic preferences. The Delphi method has been previously used to validate attributes and determine the validity and reliability of the construct from qualitative information.

Findings

A set of three aspects containing 21 criteria were defined based on previous literature and expert consultations. The analysis results show that waste minimization and recycling and recovery are causal aspects that influence efficient resource use. Emission controls on ships, cruise ship alternative energy sources, ballast water treatment systems, water purification systems and nanofiltration systems are also prominent criteria for the improvement of SC during cruise ship operation.

Originality/value

This study contributes to the literature by offering a hierarchical framework for SC literature and confirming the role of this issue in improving the cruise industry sustainability. In practice, as such results provide key attributes for successful performance, the implications are offered for companies developing new activities, either in ensuring compliance with business goals or in decreasing the environmental impact.
Teaching for the future: a transnational university practice
Authors: Wang Qian , Liu Jiajun
Published: April 2020

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to explore an innovative teaching design to teach accounting management that aims to foster students’ technical and soft skills. The effectiveness of this new teaching design addresses current concerns for universities preparing students for the future.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper deploys the qualitative research methodology and applies multiple methods to gather data in a case study. The researchers collected data through pre- and post-surveys of individual students, three half-day observations on the five project teams and a one-hour long semi-structured interview with a focus group.

Findings

Five themes emerged in the research to support the effectiveness of the new teaching design. The study also showed that students’ abilities in self-directed learning (SDL) link to their learning experiences. When students were more capable of initiating learning, such ability enriched their practices of soft skills in the team setting.

Research limitations/implications

This one-shot study had a small group of homogeneous participants and had no baseline comparison to identify the increment of students’ soft skills.

Practical implications

The findings provide valuable insights into the course design and implementation of the teaching approach for the future. The paper suggests that fostering students’ SDL will increase the effectiveness of soft skills development.

Originality/value

This empirical research extends current knowledge of teaching soft skills and calls for action on the development of students’ SDL abilities.
A novel gas/liquid two-phase flow imaging method through electrical resistance tomography with DDELM-AE sparse dictionary
Authors: Li Bo , Wang Jian ming , Wang Qi , Li Xiu yan , Duan Xiaojie
Published: April 2020

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to explore gas/liquid two-phase flow is widely existed in industrial fields, especially in chemical engineering. Electrical resistance tomography (ERT) is considered to be one of the most promising techniques to monitor the transient flow process because of its advantages such as fast respond speed and cross-section imaging. However, maintaining high resolution in space together with low cost is still challenging for two-phase flow imaging because of the ill-conditioning of ERT inverse problem.

Design/methodology/approach

In this paper, a sparse reconstruction (SR) method based on the learned dictionary has been proposed for ERT, to accurately monitor the transient flow process of gas/liquid two-phase flow in a pipeline. The high-level representation of the conductivity distributions for typical flow regimes can be extracted based on denoising the deep extreme learning machine (DDELM) model, which is used as prior information for dictionary learning.

Findings

The results from simulation and dynamic experiments indicate that the proposed algorithm efficiently improves the quality of reconstructed images as compared to some typical algorithms such as Landweber and SR-discrete fourier transformation/discrete cosine transformation. Furthermore, the SR-DDELM has also used to estimate the important parameters of the chemical process, a case in point is the volume flow rate. Therefore, the SR-DDELM is considered an ideal candidate for online monitor the gas/liquid two-phase flow.

Originality/value

This paper fulfills a novel approach to effectively monitor the gas/liquid two-phase flow in pipelines. One deep learning model and one adaptive dictionary are trained via the same prior conductivity, respectively. The model is used to extract high-level representation. The dictionary is used to represent the features of the flow process. SR and extraction of high-level representation are performed iteratively. The new method can obviously improve the monitoring accuracy and save calculation time.
Eat up! Prevention of plate waste in tourism and hospitality: a perspective paper
Authors: Dolnicar Sara
Published: April 2020

Purpose

Plate waste is uneaten food left behind on the plate after a meal. Plate waste – like all food waste – burdens the environment. Plate waste – in contrast to other types of food waste – is absolutely unnecessary and almost entirely preventable. This study aims to synthesize past research on plate waste and outline a future research agenda.

Design/methodology/approach

Past research into plate waste is discussed, and the need for specific directions of future research is pointed out. A systematics of measures for the prevention of plate waste is offered which uses the following as criteria: the suitability of measures to the hospitality context; and whether the measure has been scientifically proven to be effective.

Findings

Plate waste research has a very short history. To date, efforts have been focusing on quantifying the extent of the problem. More theoretical work is needed to identify drivers of place waste and develop and experimentally test theory-based practical interventions to reduce the amount of plate waste generated.

Originality/value

The key contribution of this perspective paper is to synthesize prior work on plate waste and offer a future research agenda.
What’s on trial? The making of field experiments in international development
Authors: de Souza Leão Luciana
Published: April 2020

In the last 20 years, the drive for evidence‐based policymaking has been coupled with a concurrent push for the use of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) as the “gold‐standard” for generating rigorous evidence on whether or not development interventions work. Drawing on content analysis of 63 development RCTs and 4 years of participant observation, I provide a rich description of the diverse set of actors and the transnational organizational effort required to implement development RCTs and maintain their “scientific status.” Particularly, I investigate the boundary work that proponents of RCTs—also known as randomistas—do to differentiate the purposes and merits of testing development projects from doing them, as a way to bypass the political and ethical problems presented by adopting the experimental method with foreign aid beneficiaries in poor countries. Although randomistas have been mostly successful in differentiating RCTs from the projects evaluated, I also examine cases where they were not able to do so, as a means to highlight the controversies associated with implementing RCTs in international development.
Testing planets: Institutions tested in an era of uncertainty
Authors: Vertesi Janet
Published: April 2020

Prior accounts of the experimenter’s regress in laboratory testing are set against the background of a relatively stable institutional context. Even if the tools are new or the object of investigation is unknown, participating entities are named, a certain degree of funding is presumed, and an organization exists to conduct the test. In this paper, I argue that this background assumption obscures the importance of institutional and organizational context to the sociology of testing. I analyze ethnographic data gathered among a NASA team whose funding is uncertain, whose mission organization is not yet established, and whose object of investigation is inaccessible. In what I characterize as “ontological flexibility,” I reveal how scientists shift their accounts of object agency in response to changes in their institutional environment. As they describe the moon as “uncooperative” or “multiple” while they make appeals to institutions at various stages of support in their exploration projects, this reveals the presence of an “institutional regress”: a previously overlooked aspect of the sociology of testing.
State work and the testing concours of citizenship
Authors: Schinkel Willem
Published: April 2020

Anyone trying to be a citizen has to pass through a set of practices trying to be a state. This paper investigates some of the ways testing practices calibrate citizens, and in doing so, perform “the state.” The paper focuses on three forms of citizenship testing, which it considers exemplary forms of “state work,” and which all, in various ways, concern “migration.” First, the constitution of a “border crossing,” which requires an identity test configured by deceptibility. Second, the Dutch asylum process, in which “being gay” can, in certain cases, be reason for being granted asylum, but where “being gay” is also the outcome of an examination organized by suspicion. And third, the Dutch measurement of immigrants’ “integration,” which is comprised of a testing process in which such factishes as “being a member of society” and “being modern” surface. Citizenship is analyzed in this paper as accrued and (re)configured along a migration trajectory that takes shape as a testing concours, meaning that subjects become citizens along a trajectory of testing practices. In contributing both to work on states and citizenship, and to work on testing, this paper thus puts forward the concept of citizenship testing as state work, where “state work is the term for that kind of labor that most knows itself as comparison, equivalency, and exchange in the social realm” (Harney, 2002, pp. 10–11). Throughout the testing practices discussed here, comparison, equivalency, and exchange figure prominently as the practical achievements of crafting states and citizens.
Maternal haemodynamic function differs in pre‐eclampsia when it is associated with a small‐for‐gestational‐age newborn: a prospective cohort study
Authors: Perry H , Binder J , Gutierrez J , Thilaganathan B , Khalil A
Published: April 2020

Objective

To describe maternal haemodynamic differences in gestational hypertension with small‐for‐gestational‐age babies (HDP + SGA), gestational hypertension with appropriate‐for‐gestational‐age babies (HDP‐only) and control pregnancies.

Design

Prospective cohort study.

Setting

Tertiary Hospital, UK.

Population

Women with gestational hypertension and healthy pregnant women.

Methods

Maternal haemodynamic indices were measured using a non‐invasive Ultrasound Cardiac Output Monitor (USCOM‐1A®) and corrected for gestational age and maternal characteristics using device‐specific reference ranges.

Main outcome measures

Maternal cardiac output, stroke volume, systemic vascular resistance.

Results

We included 114 HDP + SGA, 202 HDP‐only and 401 control pregnancies at 26–41 weeks of gestation. There was no significant difference in the mean arterial blood pressure (110 versus 107 mmHg, P = 0.445) between the two HDP groups at presentation. Pregnancies complicated by HDP + SGA had significantly lower median heart rate (76 versus 85 bpm versus 83 bpm), lower cardiac output (0.85 versus 0.98 versus 0.97 MoM) and higher systemic vascular resistance (1.4 versus 1.0 versus 1.2 MoM) compared with control and HDP‐only pregnancies, respectively (all P < 0.05).

Conclusion

Women with HDP + SGA present with more severe haemodynamic dysfunction than HDP‐only. Even HDP‐only pregnancies exhibit impaired haemodynamic indices compared with normal pregnancies, supporting a role of the maternal cardiovascular system in gestational hypertension irrespective of fetal size. Central haemodynamic changes may play a role in the pathogenesis of pre‐eclampsia and should be considered alongside placental aetiology.

Tweetable abstract

Hypertensive disorders of pregnancy are associated with worse maternal haemodynamic function when associated with small‐for‐gestational‐age birth.
The Error in “Error Rate”: Why Error Rates Are So Needed, Yet So Elusive
Authors: Dror Itiel E.
Published: April 2020

Establishing error rates is crucial for knowing how well one is performing, determining whether improvement is needed, measuring whether interventions are effective, as well as for providing transparency. However, the flurry of activities in establishing error rates for the forensic sciences has largely overlooked some fundamental issues that make error rates a problematic construct and limit the ability to obtain a meaningful error rate. These include knowing the ground truth, establishing appropriate databases, determining what counts as an error, characterizing what is an acceptable error rate, ecological validity, and transparency within the adversarial legal system. Without addressing these practical and theoretical challenges, the very notion of a meaningful error rate is limited.
Enhancing European Power
Authors: McCarthy Terry
Published: April 2020

Why does Europe – or anyone for that matter – want to increase its power? To get more resources? Increase its security? Enhance its global prestige? Protect itself from unforeseeable risks that could completely change the status quo? All of the above? The US seeks to preserve its power and insulate itself from risks by supporting a strong and open economy, by maintaining an overpowering military capability, by promoting cutting‐edge technology and by underwriting a democratic society that can self‐renew by remaining open to immigrants (notwithstanding the policies of the current administration). China has been using its exponential economic growth and single party control of power to oversee an expansion in its military and technological power, simultaneously mobilizing a vast resource of labor by means of a population transfer from the countryside to cities on a scale that is larger than the world has ever seen.
Revisiting constraints to smallholder participation in high‐value markets: A best‐worst scaling approach
Authors: Ola Oreoluwa , Menapace Luisa
Published: April 2020

We show how policymakers in developing regions can generate richer insights from using the choice experiment method best‐worst scaling (BWS) method when ranking policy priorities on an importance scale. More specifically, we adopt BWS to provide an update on constraints that limit the participation of Kenyan horticultural smallholder farmers in modern agricultural value chains. In addition to traditional constraints posed by input market failures and missing institutions, we considered constraints such as trust and familiarity with buyers shown by recent empirical studies to inform smallholders’ market choices. Ascertaining the relevance of these constraints highlights our contribution to the existing literature. We find that farmers consistently rate access to high‐quality inputs as their main constraint followed by concerns about access to credit, the high cost of meeting food standards, missing cooperatives, and exploitative intermediaries. Respondents considered insufficient labor, small farmlands, and weak tenure rights as the least important constraints. Age, location, gender, household income, and education influence the relative importance various segments of smallholders place on these constraints. For example, constraints are economic rather than personal for low‐income farmers. Counterintuitively, rural smallholders are less likely to perceive poor transportation network as a constraint. Smallholders’ distrust of buyers they interact with is informed by their location and income. In designing intervention initiatives, policies that focus on segments of smallholders are needed for improving smallholder participation in modern agricultural value chains.
Efficient isolation, culture, purification, and stem cell expression profiles of primary tumor cells derived from uterine cervical squamous cell carcinoma
Authors: Zhang Yuanyuan , An Jusheng , Liu Mei , Li Ning , Wang Wenpeng , Yao Hongwen , Li Nan , Yang Xi , Sun Yangchun , Xu Ningzhi , Wu Lingying
Published: April 2020

Problem

Since not too many human uterus cervical squamous cell carcinoma (CSCC) cell lines in existence, efficient isolation, culture, and purification protocols for primary CSCC cells were optimized as a tool for the study of uterus CSCC.

Method of study

The protocols for partial multiple enzymatic digestion and explant cell culture were combined and then the resulting mixed cell component cultures were purified by magnetic‐activated cell sorting. Colony‐forming assay was utilized for detection of cell carcinogenesis potential, and immunofluorescence was used to detect protein expression of CSCC. Finally, flow cytometry (FCM) was performed to analyze cancer stem cells (CSCs) phenotypic markers as well as programmed cell death ligand 1(PD‐L 1).

Results

Freshly isolated cells containing tumor cells and cancer‐associated fibroblasts (CAFs) efficiently proliferate to 85% confluence on a 6 cm petri dish in 5‐7 days. Anti‐epithelial cell adhesion molecule antibody (EpCAM) microbeads were used to successfully separate a homogeneous subpopulation of epithelial tumor cells. Both EpCAM+ and EpCAM− cell subpopulations were able to be passaged more than 30 times. Proportions of tumor cell populations expressed CSCs markers such as CD133, CD24, aldehyde dehydrogenase 1 (ALDH1), and CD44. The vimentin+ & EpCAM− population, defined with CAFs, could express CD146 mesenchymal stem cells marker. Meanwhile, PD‐L 1 was identified in most subpopulation of CD44+ cells at low passage numbers.

Conclusion

Efficient isolation, culture, and purification protocols for primary CSCC cells were successfully built. Additionally, the profiling of CSCs cell markers might provide promising therapeutic targets and clinic strategies.
The Dynamic American Dream
Authors: Wolak Jennifer , Peterson David A. M.
Published: April 2020

The American Dream is central to the national ethos, reflecting people's optimism that all who are willing to work hard can achieve a better life than their parents. Separate from the support for the idea of the American Dream itself is whether the public believes it is attainable. We consider the origins and dynamics of the public's belief in the achievability of the American Dream. Is the American Dream a symbolic vision, rooted in political socialization rather than contemporary politics? Or does optimism about the American Dream follow from the viability of the dream, rising with economic prosperity and falling with declining opportunity? We develop a new macrolevel measure of belief in the American Dream from 1973 to 2018. We show that it moves over time, responsive to changes in social mobility, income inequality, and economic perceptions. As inequality increases, belief in the attainability of the American Dream declines.