bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Raising resilience of web service dependent repository systems
Authors: Miksa Tomasz , Mayer Rudolf , Rauber Andreas
Published: July 2015

Purpose

– This paper aims to address the issue of long-term stability of services and systems depending on service-oriented architecture that has become a popular architecture in systems development and is often implemented using Web services. However, the dependency, especially on externally provided services, can impact the reliability of a system. This is often caused by the loose coupling also implying a less stringent policy for change management and notifications. Therefore, the authors characterise the types of changes that can happen in remote services and propose the concept of resilient web services (RWSs) as an example on how to upgrade existing services to better support the long-term stability of services and systems.

Design/methodology/approach

– Having analysed several use cases where systems broke because of external dependencies not correctly maintained, the authors derived requirements for RWSs.

Findings

– By means of a prototype implementation and evaluation of this solution in a case study, the feasibility of the approach was verified. Several scenarios of changes in WSs were simulated, correctly identified and responded to.

Originality/value

– The authors propose a set of extensions to existing standards such as Web Services Description Language to improve the long-term availability of services in SOAs. A prototype implementation was developed for service monitoring and RWSs.
Path-based keyword search over XML streams
Authors: Bou Savong , Amagasa Toshiyuki , Kitagawa Hiroyuki
Published: July 2015

Purpose

– In purpose of this paper is to propose a novel scheme to process XPath-based keyword search over Extensible Markup Language (XML) streams, where one can specify query keywords and XPath-based filtering conditions at the same time. Experimental results prove that our proposed scheme can efficiently and practically process XPath-based keyword search over XML streams.

Design/methodology/approach

– To allow XPath-based keyword search over XML streams, it was attempted to integrate YFilter (Diao et al., 2003) with CKStream (Hummel et al., 2011). More precisely, the nondeterministic finite automation (NFA) of YFilter is extended so that keyword matching at text nodes is supported. Next, the stack data structure is modified by integrating set of NFA states in YFilter with bitmaps generated from set of keyword queries in CKStream.

Findings

– Extensive experiments were conducted using both synthetic and real data set to show the effectiveness of the proposed method. The experimental results showed that the accuracy of the proposed method was better than the baseline method (CKStream), while it consumed less memory. Moreover, the proposed scheme showed good scalability with respect to the number of queries.

Originality/value

– Due to the rapid diffusion of XML streams, the demand for querying such information is also growing. In such a situation, the ability to query by combining XPath and keyword search is important, because it is easy to use, but powerful means to query XML streams. However, none of existing works has addressed this issue. This work is to cope with this problem by combining an existing XPath-based YFilter and a keyword-search-based CKStream for XML streams to enable XPath-based keyword search.
On maintaining semantic networks: challenges, algorithms, use cases
Authors: Ulmschneider Klaus , Michelberger Bernd , Glimm Birte , Mutschler Bela , Reichert Manfred
Published: July 2015

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to provide methods and algorithms to maintain a semantic network (SN). In previous work, the authors introduced the SN approach for bridging the gap of aligning enterprise information with business processes, i.e. for discovering explicit relations between them. What has been neglected so far, however, is SN maintenance, which is required to keep an SN consistent, complete and up-to-date.

Design/methodology/approach

– The paper illustrates an approach for SN maintenance. Specifically, the authors show how an SN evolves over time, classify properties of objects and relations captured in an SN and show how these properties can be maintained. An empirical evaluation, which is based on synthetic and real-world data, investigates the performance, scalability and practicability of the proposed algorithms.

Findings

– The authors prove the feasibility of the introduced algorithms in terms of runtime performance with a proof-of-concept implementation. Further, a real-world case from the automotive domain confirms the applicability of the SN maintenance approach.

Originality/value

– As opposed to existing work, the presented approach allows for the automated and consistent maintenance of SNs. Furthermore, the applicability of the presented SN maintenance approach is validated in the context of a real-world scenario as well as two business cases.
Developing retailer selection factors for collaborative planning, forecasting and replenishment
Authors: Panaihfar Farhad , Heavey Cathal , Byrne PJ
Published: July 2015

Purpose

– Selecting an appropriate partner is a vital and strategic decision-making process in any supply chain collaboration initiative. The purpose of this paper is to introduce and explore the key factors considered by manufacturers in the selection of an appropriate retailer(s) for collaboration and collaborative planning, forecasting and replenishment (CPFR) implementation and the relationships between these factors.

Design/methodology/approach

– A comprehensive literature review and experts’ views are applied to identify the main retailer selection and evaluation factors for CPFR implementation. A fuzzy decision-making trial and evaluation laboratory approach is then used to rank and analysis the interaction among identified factors. The findings are finally evaluated using a case study from a high-tech industry.

Findings

– The most important partner selection factors comprising of five dimensions and 24 factors are introduced. Of the identified criteria, three factors: manufacturer’s familiarity with the retailer, workforce skills and training and customer service orientation and capability have been identified as critical when selecting retailers for CPFR implementation. The technological capabilities dimensions are identified as the only net cause dimension which affects all other dimensions and its importance and role in simplifying and enhancing the speed and flexibility of CPFR implementation.

Practical implications

– The paper identifies practical retailer selection factors for CPFR implementation and the causal relationships between factors. Developed retailer selection dimensions and criteria will assist manufacturers and retailers in understanding the role these factors play in CPFR implementation. This will also assist in appropriate retailer(s) selection by manufacturers.

Originality/value

– This paper contributes to the literature on CPFR and tackles the important issue of selecting appropriate partners by developing retailer selection dimensions and criteria in CPFR implementation.
The Complete English Tradesman – business relations, trust, and honesty or ‘let’s rethink the history of relationship marketing’
Authors: Tadajewski Mark
Published: July 2015

Purpose

– This paper aims to provide a close reading of Daniel Defoe’s The Complete English Tradesman. It makes a case that many of the themes that Defoe engages with are consistent with later arguments offered by relationship marketing scholars.

Design/methodology/approach

– This is a close reading of one of Defoe’s most popular texts, The Complete English Tradesman. It links this discussion with relationship marketing tenets.

Findings

– Defoe pays considerable attention to key relational ideas, including the cultivation of a public perception of business honesty, the need to cater to customer requirements, treating the customer as the “idol” of the practitioner and undertaking a variety of actions to ensure that consumers trust the words and actions of the tradesman.

Practical implications

– This paper highlights how ahistorical debates surrounding relationship marketing have been and calls for a return to the archives.

Originality/value

– This paper supplements existing research that charts the implications for marketing thought of Defoe’s work, extending this via a juxtaposition of his writing with relational tenets.
Fulfill psychological contract promises to manage in-demand employees
Authors: Rodwell John , Ellershaw Julia , Flower Rebecca
Published: July 2015

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to explore the impact of three components of the psychological contract (i.e. obligations, fulfillment and breach) and the individual characteristic negative affectivity (NA) onto three key outcomes, namely, job satisfaction, organizational identification and psychological distress.

Design/methodology/approach

– Questionnaires were completed by 222 Australian nurses and midwives from a medium-sized metropolitan Australian hospital. The response rate for the study was 39 percent.

Findings

– Structural equation modeling revealed that perceptions of psychological contract fulfillment were positively linked to organizational identification and job satisfaction, while psychological contract breach was negatively linked to these outcomes. NA was negatively linked to job satisfaction and positively linked to psychological distress. Psychological contract obligations were not associated with any of the employee outcomes.

Research limitations/implications

– Psychological contract fulfillment is an important driver of employee satisfaction and organizational identification and the findings highlight the importance of including NA in psychological contract research. The occupation and context, being in-demand employees, appeared to neutralize the impact of one dimension of the psychological contract, employer promises and obligations.

Practical implications

– Explicitly managing employees’ psychological contracts by focussing on fulfilling realistic promises will enable managers to improve employee outcomes and facilitate employees embracing their organization.

Originality/value

– This study is one of the first to explore all three components of the psychological contract. These results may assist in the development of strategies to retain in-demand employees such as nurses, particularly highlighting the need to make and fulfill realistic promises.
Making the right move. Investigating employers’ recruitment strategies
Authors: Gërxhani Klarita , Koster Ferry
Published: July 2015

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to investigate employers’ recruitment strategies to address distinct job-related agency problems before establishing an employment relationship. Insights from agency theory and the social embeddedness perspective are combined to hypothesize whether and why employers adapt their recruitment strategies to the job type (differing in level of discretion) for which they are externally hiring.

Design/methodology/approach

– The hypotheses are empirically tested using data from a survey of 288 Dutch employers. Questions were asked about the two types of jobs. Multi-level logistic regression analysis is applied to investigate the effect of social context on the choice of recruitment strategy. In addition to that, separate analyses are conducted for the two job types, using logistic regression analysis.

Findings

– As predicted, employers have the tendency to use informal recruitment channels more often for jobs with high degree of discretion (i.e. managerial, professional, and specialists jobs (MPS)) than for jobs with low degree of discretion (i.e. administrative and supporting jobs). In addition, the type of information transmitted through employers’ social contacts matters for their recruitment strategies. In particular, the reliable and trustworthy information from contacts with friends and family is more important for MPS jobs. This seems to be the way employers deal with the high agency costs characterizing this type of jobs.

Originality/value

– This study extends prior research as follows. First, while earlier studies more closely looked at why organizations use formal or informal recruitment, this study specifically focusses on the role the job type plays in the hiring process. Second, it provides an extension of agency theory by including job type in the analyses. And, third, the study examines how the networks of employers, rather than employees, affect the hiring process.
Policy archaeology: digging into special education policy in Ontario, 1965-1978
Authors: DeBeer Yvette
Published: July 2015

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to provide a clear and replicable methodology for conducting a policy archaeology. This paper articulates the steps in policy archaeology and the process is applied to a study of Discourses of disability in special education policy in Ontario, 1965-1978.

Design/methodology/approach

– The metaphor of field archaeology guided the process of locating relevant texts through backward and lateral mapping and locating and interpreting artefacts. The artefacts were discursive representations of complex policy problem of disability in stakeholder texts. The Discourses were compared chronologically, within and across stakeholder texts. An explanatory narrative relates the Discourses to the socio-historical context.

Findings

– There were significant contradictions in the discursive construction of disability. The texts of the Council for Exceptional Children presumed agreement that disability was an intrinsic, permanent deficit within the student with disabilities. In contrast, the other stakeholders stated that disability was the result of socially and educationally constructed barriers.

Research limitations/implications

– This paper makes no claim of universal truth. The interpretations and conclusions reached are influenced by the researcher’s knowledge and experience. Other scholars may reach other conclusions.

Practical implications

– Scholars have a clear and replicable methodology for conducting a policy archaeology. This methodology is currently the most “true” to the metaphor of archaeology and uses Discourse analysis, interpretation and the creation of a narrative situated in a socio-historical context.

Originality/value

– The study shows that the Discourses of disability in special education policy in special education policy in Ontario place children with disabilities at a serious educational disadvantage.
Vertical stratification of matrix production is essential for physical integrity and architecture of macrocolony biofilms of Escherichia coli
Authors: Serra Diego O. , Klauck Gisela , Hengge Regine
Published: July 2015

Bacterial macrocolony biofilms grow into intricate three‐dimensional structures that depend on self‐produced extracellular polymers conferring protection, cohesion and elasticity to the biofilm. In Escherichia coli, synthesis of this matrix – consisting of amyloid curli fibres and cellulose – requires CsgD, a transcription factor regulated by the stationary phase sigma factor RpoS, and occurs in the nutrient‐deprived cells of the upper layer of macrocolonies. Is this asymmetric matrix distribution functionally important or is it just a fortuitous by‐product of an unavoidable nutrient gradient? In order to address this question, the RpoS‐dependent csgD promoter was replaced by a vegetative promoter. This re‐wiring of csgD led to CsgD and matrix production in both strata of macrocolonies, with the lower layer transforming into a rigid ‘base plate’ of growing yet curli‐connected cells. As a result, the two strata broke apart followed by desiccation and exfoliation of the top layer. By contrast, matrix‐free cells at the bottom of wild‐type macrocolonies maintain colony contact with the humid agar support by flexibly filling the space that opens up under buckling areas of the macrocolony. Precisely regulated stratification in matrix‐free and matrix‐producing cell layers is thus essential for the physical integrity and architecture of E. coli macrocolony biofilms.
The risks of planned vaginal breech delivery versus planned caesarean section for term breech birth: a meta‐analysis including observational studies
Authors: Berhan Y , Haileamlak A
Published: July 2015

Background

The mode of delivery in term singleton breech presentation has been debated for more than half a century and has been examined in both randomised and observational studies.

Objective

To determine the absolute and relative risks of perinatal mortality and morbidity in planned vaginal breech delivery.

Search strategy

A computer‐based literature search was conducted mainly in the databases of HINARI, PubMed and Google scholar for studies comparing planned vaginal delivery and planned caesarean section.

Selection criteria

Studies that assessed the perinatal mortality and morbidity in relation to the term singleton breech mode of delivery between 1993 and 2014 were included.

Data collection and analysis

In this meta‐analysis, 27 articles with a total sample size of 258 953 women were included. Relative and absolute risks of perinatal mortality and morbidity in relation to mode of delivery were determined.

Main results

The relative risk of perinatal mortality and morbidity was about two‐ to five‐fold higher in the planned vaginal than in the planned caesarean delivery group. The absolute risks of perinatal mortality, fetal neurologic morbidity, birth trauma, 5‐minute Apgar score <7 and neonatal asphyxia in the planned vaginal delivery group were 0.3, 0.7, 0.7, 2.4 and 3.3%, respectively.

Conclusion

Perinatal mortality and morbidity in the planned vaginal breech delivery were significantly higher than with planned caesarean delivery. Even taking into account the relatively low absolute risks of vaginal breech delivery, the current study substantiates the practice of individualised decision‐making on the route of delivery in a term breech presentation.

Tweetable abstract

Although vaginal breech delivery is controversial, this review has shown low absolute risk.
Parent and Metabolite Opioid Drug Concentrations in Unintentional Deaths Involving Opioid and Benzodiazepine Combinations,,
Authors: Fields Marcia D. , Abate Marie A. , Hu Lan , Long D. Leann , Blommel Matthew L. , Haikal Nabila A. , Kraner James C.
Published: July 2015

Effects of benzodiazepines on postmortem opioid parent and parent/metabolite blood concentration ratios were determined for fentanyl‐, hydrocodone‐, methadone‐, or oxycodone‐related accidental deaths. These opioids are partially metabolized by the CYP3A4 enzyme system, which is also affected by diazepam and alprazolam. Opioid/metabolite combinations examined were as follows: fentanyl/norfentanyl, hydrocodone/dihydrocodeine, methadone/EDDP, and oxycodone/oxymorphone. Parent opioid concentrations were analyzed for 877 deaths. Parent/metabolite concentration ratios were analyzed for 349 deaths, excluding cases with co‐intoxicants present known to interfere with opioid elimination. Alprazolam in combination with diazepam significantly decreased median hydrocodone concentrations by 48% (p = 0.01) compared to hydrocodone alone. The methadone parent/metabolite concentration ratio was reduced by 35% in the presence of diazepam compared to methadone alone (p = 0.03). Benzodiazepines did not statistically significantly affect fentanyl or oxycodone concentrations. Possible factors affecting opioid concentrations and possible toxicity development, including any differential effects on specific opioids, should continue to be explored.
Translational progress on tumor biomarkers
Authors: Guo Hongwei , Zhou Xiaolin , Lu Yi , Xie Liye , Chen Qian , Keller Evan T. , Liu Qian , Zhou Qinghua , Zhang Jian
Published: July 2015

There is an urgent need to apply basic research achievements to the clinic. In particular, mechanistic studies should be developed by bench researchers, depending upon clinical demands, in order to improve the survival and quality of life of cancer patients. To date, translational medicine has been addressed in cancer biology, particularly in the identification and characterization of novel tumor biomarkers. This review focuses on the recent achievements and clinical application prospects in tumor biomarkers based on translational medicine.
Parental factors affecting the circumcision of non‐Muslim Chinese boys include education and family history
Authors: Yan Wei‐Li , Wang Chen‐Chen , Huang Yong‐Di , Yimiti Deliciati , Wang Qian , Upur Halmurat
Published: July 2015

Aim

This study investigated the prevalence of circumcision among non‐Muslim schoolboys in Urumqi, China, and how acceptable their parents found the practice.

Methods

A convenient cluster sample of non‐Muslim schoolboys (n = 3614) aged six to 15 years of age and 873 mothers and 927 fathers completed self‐administered questionnaires. We compared the consistency of the circumcision status reported by students and their parents and analysed the factors that influenced the parents to have their child circumcised.

Results

The mean age at circumcision was 8.3 years and the adjusted prevalence was 46.2%. Up to 45.4% of fathers and 66% of mothers with uncircumcised sons were willing to circumcise their sons after receiving further information on circumcision. Mothers were more likely to support circumcision if they had higher education levels and higher family income, were employed as government officials and had family members who had been circumcised, including their husband. Fathers were more likely to support circumcision if they were highly educated and had been circumcised themselves.

Conclusion

The prevalence and acceptability of circumcision were higher than expected in this traditional schoolboy population in Urumqi, China. Factors that increased parental support for circumcision included high education and the father being circumcised.
Method issues in business ethics research: finding credible answers to questions that matter
Authors: Campbell David , Cowton Christopher J.
Published: July 2015

This paper is an essay based on many years of reviewing journal submissions and discussions with business ethics scholars on a range of themes regarding methods. To some extent, it contains condensed thoughts from two experienced scholars in the field, which we hope will be useful, especially to emerging scholars who, to some extent, may still be wrestling with some of the issues raised in the paper. The validity and reliability of research methods in business ethics research is discussed in terms of legitimate methods to employ in the discipline, the epistemic challenges in the discipline, the debate between qualitative and quantitative methods, and some considered comments on ‘researching well’ in this discipline. Within each theme, we attempt to convey our distilled thoughts in the hope that methods employed in future studies will avoid some of the failures we have observed in the past.
Quantitative content analysis as a method for business ethics research
Authors: Lock Irina , Seele Peter
Published: July 2015

The aim of this article is to discuss quantitative content analysis as established in communication sciences as a method for research in business ethics. We argue that communication sciences and business ethics are neighboring disciplines, which allow the transfer of quantitative content analysis from communication sciences to business ethics. Technically, quantitative content analysis can be applied through human as well as software coding. Examples for both applications are provided and discussed. We make reference to the software solutions ‘Leximancer’, ‘Crawdad’, and ‘Wordle’, and examine their suitability and limitations with regard to ethical questions for researching business ethics. We recommend a mixed‐method approach, combining human and software coding. Furthermore, we propose a three‐step process that discusses quantitative content analysis as a method for business ethics, including an ethical research objective, and most importantly, concluding with ethical reasoning and interpretation of the quantitative results.
The relationship between teacher burnout and student motivation
Authors: Shen Bo , McCaughtry Nate , Martin Jeffrey , Garn Alex , Kulik Noel , Fahlman Mariane
Published: July 2015

Background

Teacher burnout is regarded as a serious problem in school settings. To date, studies on teachers’ stress and burnout have largely centred on teachers’ own characteristics, socialization, and behaviours, but few have explored the connection between teachers’ burnout and students’ motivation via their own perceptions of teachers’ behaviour and emotional well‐being.

Aims

This study adopted Maslach et al.'s (2001, Annu. Rev. Psychol., 52, 397) job burnout construct and self‐determination theory to investigate the relationships between teachers’ burnout and students’ autonomous motivation over one‐semester physical education classes.

Sample

A total of 1,302 high school students and their 33 physical education teachers in 20 high schools from two school districts in a major Midwest metropolitan area in the United States. The two school districts were demographically similar.

Methods

Students and physical education teachers completed questionnaires assessing relevant psychological constructs. There were two time points for collecting students’ data. One was at the beginning of a fall semester, and the other was at the end of that semester. Hierarchical linear modelling analyses were conducted.

Results

It was revealed that teachers’ emotional exhaustion was negatively related to students’ perceived teacher autonomy support (TAS); in turn, there was a negative relationship between teachers’ feeling of depersonalization and students’ autonomous motivation development even when controlling for inadequate TAS.

Conclusion

The dimensions of teachers' burnout might play different roles in the transmission from teachers to students. Teachers’ status of burnout is an important environmental factor associated with students’ quality of motivation.
Modulation of prefrontal‐cingulate connectivity in affective processing of children with experiences of ostracism
Authors: Park Chang‐hyun , Lee Ji‐Eun , Kim Young‐Hoon , Kim Ki‐Tae , Kim Young‐Joo , Lee Kyoung‐Uk
Published: July 2015

Background

The anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) has been shown to be involved in emotional distress induced by social exclusion and the ventrolateral prefrontal cortex (VLPFC) in the regulation or inhibition of the distress. Here, we examined modulation of effective connectivity between the regions in response to emotional feedback in children with experiences of ostracism in their everyday life.

Methods

In functional magnetic resonance imaging experiments, 10 ostracized children and 11 control children were provided emotional feedback inducing negative or positive affective states. We employed effective connectivity analysis to explore connectivity models comprising the VLPFC and ACC, and to estimate connectivity parameters over the models.

Results

In spite of psychological impacts on the ostracized children, behavioral data showed that their emotional responses did not deviate from the control children in response to the emotional feedback. The VLPFC to ACC connectivity was modulated only in the ostracized children, such that the modulation may help them regulate their emotional responses.

Conclusions

The findings suggest that the effects of ostracism experiences on affective processing can be revealed in terms of modulation of prefrontal‐cingulate connectivity.
Synthesis and In Vitro Activity of Polyhalogenated 2‐phenylbenzimidazoles as a New Class of anti‐MRSA and Anti‐VRE Agents
Authors: Göker Hakan , Karaaslan Cigdem , Püsküllü Mustafa Orhan , Yildiz Sulhiye , Duydu Yalcin , Üstündağ Aylin , Yalcin Can Özgür
Published: July 2015

A series of novel polyhalogenated 2‐phenylbenzimidazoles have been synthesized and evaluated for in vitro antistaphylococcal activity against drug‐resistant bacterial strains (methicillin‐resistant Staphylococcus aureus, and vancomycin‐resistant Enterococcus faecium. Certain compounds inhibit bacterial growth perfectly. 11 was active than vancomycin (0.78 μg/mL) with the lowest MIC values with 0.19 μg/mL against methicillin‐resistant Staphylococcus aureus, 8 and 35 exhibited best inhibitory activity against vancomycin‐resistant Enterococcus faecium (1.56 μg/mL). The mechanism of action for this class of compounds appears to be different than clinically used antibiotics. These polyhalogenated benzimidazoles have potential for further investigation as a new class of potent anti‐methicillin‐resistant Staphylococcus aureus and anti‐vancomycin‐resistant Enterococcus faecium agents.
New Eugenol Glucoside‐based Derivative Shows Fungistatic and Fungicidal Activity against Opportunistic Candida glabrata
Authors: de Souza Thiago Belarmino , de Oliveira Brito Keila Mercês , Silva Naiara Chaves , Rocha Raissa Prado , de Sousa Grasiely Faria , Duarte Lucienir Pains , Coelho Luiz Felipe Leomil , Dias Amanda Latércia Tranches , Veloso Marcia Paranho , Carvalho Diogo Teixeira , Dias Danielle Ferreira
Published: July 2015

A new series of glucosides modified in their saccharide units were synthesized, evaluated against Candida sp., and compared to prototype 1, an eugenol tetracetyl glucoside previously synthesized and shown to be active against Candida glabrata. Among the new glucosides, benzyl derivative 5 was the most promising, showing fungistatic activity at IC50 18.1 μm against Candida glabrata (threefold higher than fluconazole) and fungicidal activity with a low IC90 value of 36.2 μm. Moreover, the cytotoxic activity of compound 5 (CC50: 580.9 μm), tested in peripheral blood mononuclear cells, suggests its potential as an agent to treat Candida glabrata infections, with a selectivity index of 32. The new eugenol glucoside 5 may be considered as a novel structural pattern in the development of new anti‐Candida drugs.
Parental confidence in managing food allergy: development and validation of the food allergy self‐efficacy scale for parents (FASE‐P)
Authors: Knibb R. C. , Barnes C. , Stalker C.
Published: July 2015

Background

Food allergy is often a life‐long condition that requires constant vigilance to prevent accidental exposure and avoid potentially life‐threatening symptoms. Parents' confidence in managing their child's food allergy may relate to the poor quality of life anxiety and worry reported by parents of food‐allergic children.

Objective

The aim of this study was to develop and validate the first scale to measure parental confidence (self‐efficacy) in managing food allergy in their child.

Methods

The Food Allergy Self‐Efficacy Scale for Parents (FASE‐P) was developed through interviews with 53 parents, consultation of the literature and experts in the area. The FASE‐P was then completed by 434 parents of food‐allergic children from a general population sample in addition to the General Self‐Efficacy Scale (GSES), the Food Allergy Quality of Life Parental Burden Scale (FAQL‐PB), the General Health Questionnaire‐12 (GHQ‐12) and the Food Allergy Impact Measure (FAIM). A total of 250 parents completed the retest of the FASE‐P.

Results

Factor and reliability analysis resulted in a 21‐item scale with five subscales. The overall scale and subscales have good to excellent internal consistency (Cronbach's α of 0.63–0.89), and the scale is stable over time. There were low to moderate significant correlations with the GSES, FAIM and GHQ‐12 and strong correlations with the FAQL‐PB, with better parental confidence relating to better general self‐efficacy, better quality of life and better mental health in the parent. Poorer self‐efficacy was related to egg and milk allergy; self‐efficacy was not related to severity of allergy.

Conclusions and clinical relevance

The FASE‐P is a reliable and valid scale for use with parents from a general population. Its application within clinical settings could aid provision of advice and improve targeted interventions by identifying areas where parents have less confidence in managing their child's food allergy.
Implant treatment planning regarding augmentation procedures: panoramic radiographs vs. cone beam computed tomography images
Authors: Dagassan‐Berndt Dorothea C. , Zitzmann Nicola U. , Walter Clemens , Schulze Ralf K. W.
Published: July 2015

Objectives

To evaluate the impact of cone beam computed tomography (CBCT) imaging on treatment planning regarding augmentation procedures for implant placement.

Material and methods

Panoramic radiographs and CBCT images of 40 patients requesting single‐tooth implants in 59 sites were retrospectively analyzed by six specialists in implantology, and treatment planning was performed. Therapeutic recommendations were compared with the surgical protocol performed initially.

Results

Bone height estimation from panoramic radiographs yielded to higher measures and greater variability compared to CBCT. The suggested treatment plan for lateral and vertical augmentation procedures based on CBCT or panoramic radiographs coincided for 55–72% of the cases. A trend to a more invasive augmentation procedure was seen when planning was based on CBCT. Panoramic radiography revealed 57–63% (lateral) vs. 67% (vertical augmentation) congruent plans in agreement with surgery. Among the dissenting sites, there was a trend toward less invasive planning for lateral augmentation with panoramic radiographs, while vertical augmentation requirements were more frequently more invasive when based on CBCT.

Conclusions

Vertical augmentation requirements can be adequately determined from panoramic radiographs. In difficult cases with a deficient lateral alveolar bone, the augmentation schedule may better be evaluated from CBCT to avoid underestimation, which occurs more frequently when based on panoramic radiographs only. However, overall, radiographic interpretation and diagnostic thinking accuracy seem to be mainly depending on the opinion of observers.
Extinction in a hyperdiverse endemic Hawaiian land snail family and implications for the underestimation of invertebrate extinction
Authors: Régnier Claire , Bouchet Philippe , Hayes Kenneth A. , Yeung Norine W. , Christensen Carl C. , Chung Daniel J. D. , Fontaine Benoît , Cowie Robert H.
Published: July 2015

The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List includes 832 species listed as extinct since 1600, a minuscule fraction of total biodiversity. This extinction rate is of the same order of magnitude as the background rate and has been used to downplay the biodiversity crisis. Invertebrates comprise 99% of biodiversity, yet the status of a negligible number has been assessed. We assessed extinction in the Hawaiian land snail family Amastridae (325 species, IUCN lists 33 as extinct). We did not use the stringent IUCN criteria, by which most invertebrates would be considered data deficient, but a more realistic approach comparing historical collections with modern surveys and expert knowledge. Of the 325 Amastridae species, 43 were originally described as fossil or subfossil and were assumed to be extinct. Of the remaining 282, we evaluated 88 as extinct and 15 as extant and determined that 179 species had insufficient evidence of extinction (though most are probably extinct). Results of statistical assessment of extinction probabilities were consistent with our expert evaluations of levels of extinction. Modeling various extinction scenarios yielded extinction rates of 0.4‐14.0% of the amastrid fauna per decade. The true rate of amastrid extinction has not been constant; generally, it has increased over time. We estimated a realistic average extinction rate as approximately 5%/decade since the first half of the nineteenth century. In general, oceanic island biotas are especially susceptible to extinction and global rate generalizations do not reflect this. Our approach could be used for other invertebrates, especially those with restricted ranges (e.g., islands), and such an approach may be the only way to evaluate invertebrates rapidly enough to keep up with ongoing extinction.
Technique for a stapled anastomosis following transanal total mesorectal excision for rectal cancer
Authors: Bracey E. , Knol J. , Buchs N. , Jones O. , Cunningham C. , Guy R. , Mortensen N. , Hompes R.
Published: July 2015

Aim

Transanal total mesorectal excision (taTME) is an emerging and exciting new technique in rectal cancer surgery. As with all novel techniques, new challenges arise, requiring small modifications of the technique. Here we present a simple technique that we have devised to facilitate a stapled anastomosis using standard circular staplers following a taTME.

Method

We describe the technique in a stepwise fashion with picture ‐ and video illustration. Our experience with this anastomosis in a small cohort of patients is reported.

Results

No anastomotic leaks occured in 12 consecutive patients using this technique following taTME. In one patient a small defect was noticed on direct visualisation of the anastomosis intra‐operative, and was closed transanally. So far 8/12 patient had their protective ileostomy reversed with satisfactory function.

Conclusion

We believe that this technique for a transanal, stapled anastomosis after a transanal TME procedure is safe and reproducible. Objective assessment of longterm functional outcome is required and outcomes need to be compared to other stapled techniques and handsewn anastomoses.
Child‐centered Practice in Museums: Experiential Learning through Creative Play at the Ipswich Art Gallery
Authors: Piscitelli Barbara , Penfold Louisa
Published: July 2015

Over the past two decades, museums and galleries have significantly expanded the scope and diversity of programs and exhibitions offered to children, families and schools. Parents and teachers are increasingly interested in curated public play spaces for children in the early years (from birth to eight years old), and they actively search for accessibility, affordability and quality when planning young children's excursions.

In 2013, the Ipswich Art Gallery (in Queensland, Australia) developed and presented Light Play, an interactive exhibition designed especially for children up to the age of eight. Light Play promoted the use of light as a creative material for making ephemeral art through collaborative play, experimentation and discovery‐based learning. As part of the exhibition, a formal research project was run as an integral component of Light Play. Our research documented the qualities that lead to successful creative play experiences for young children in art museums by examining three key aspects of the exhibition: the participants, the environment, and the program. This paper discusses the findings of that research, in relation to making financial and human resource investments in interactive and immersive exhibitions and play spaces for children in the early years.
Corrupt Importers, Domestic Producers & Welfare: Role of Trade Policy
Authors: Biswas Amit K. , Sengupta Sarbajit
Published: July 2015

Stringent regulatory foreign exchange and trade policies create distortions and lead to mis‐invoicing of imports and exports. Such legally prescribed opportunistic behavior is alleged to be common in LDCs because of their lack of openness and restrictive policies. This paper focuses on the impact of various trade and currency policies like tariffs, quotas, different exchange rates, and devaluation and administrative policy instruments like monitoring and penalties on import mis‐invoicing under Cournot quantity competition. A framework is developed to analyze the impact of those policies on importers and domestic producers both under fixed and flexible exchange rate regimes.
Tuning of temporo‐occipital activity by frontal oscillations during virtual mirror exposure causes erroneous self‐recognition
Authors: Serino Andrea , Sforza Anna Laura , Kanayama Noriaki , van Elk Michiel , Kaliuzhna Mariia , Herbelin Bruno , Blanke Olaf
Published: July 2015

Self‐face recognition, a hallmark of self‐awareness, depends on ‘off‐line’ stored information about one's face and ‘on‐line’ multisensory‐motor face‐related cues. The brain mechanisms of how on‐line sensory‐motor processes affect off‐line neural self‐face representations are unknown. This study used 3D virtual reality to create a ‘virtual mirror’ in which participants saw an avatar's face moving synchronously with their own face movements. Electroencephalographic (EEG) analysis during virtual mirror exposure revealed mu oscillations in sensory‐motor cortex signalling on‐line congruency between the avatar's and participants’ movements. After such exposure and compatible with a change in their off‐line self‐face representation, participants were more prone to recognize the avatar's face as their own, and this was also reflected in the activation of face‐specific regions in the inferotemporal cortex. Further EEG analysis showed that the on‐line sensory‐motor effects during virtual mirror exposure caused these off‐line visual effects, revealing the brain mechanisms that maintain a coherent self‐representation, despite our continuously changing appearance.
Grade Inflation Marches On: Grade Increases from the 1990s to 2000s
Authors: Kostal Jack W. , Kuncel Nathan R. , Sackett Paul R.
Published: July 2015

Grade inflation threatens the integrity of college grades as indicators of academic achievement. In this study, we contribute to the literature on grade inflation by providing the first estimate of the size of grade increases at the student level between the mid‐1990s and mid‐2000s. By controlling for student characteristics and course‐taking patterns, we are able to eliminate alternative explanations for grade increases. Our results suggest that grade inflation has occurred across decades, at a small yet non‐negligible rate. Suggestions for future research are discussed.
Using an integrative approach to investigate the evolution of behaviour
Authors: Aubin‐Horth Nadia
Published: July 2015

Behaviour is a central focus of interest in biology because it has an impact on several aspects of an organism's life. Evolutionary biologists have realised the advantage of an integrative approach that jointly studies the molecular, cellular and physiological levels of an individual to link them with the organismal behavioural phenotype. First, this mechanistic information helps in understanding physiological and evolutionary constraints acting on the behavioural response to the environment and its evolution. Second, it furthers our understanding of the process of molecular convergent evolution. Finally, we learn about natural variation in molecular, cellular and physiological traits present in wild populations and their underlying genetic basis, which can be a substrate for selection to act on. I illustrate these points using our work on behaviour variation in fishes. The information on the mechanistic bases of behaviour variation in various species and behaviours will contribute to an ecological annotation of genes and to uncover new mechanisms implicated in how this astonishing behavioural diversity arose, is maintained and will evolve.
Evidence of stochasticity driving anuran metacommunity structure in the Pantanal wetlands
Authors: Delatorre Milena , Cunha Nicolay , Raizer Josué , Ferreira Vanda Lúcia
Published: July 2015

The association of species distribution and abundance patterns with environmental and spatial variables is often used to identify signatures of niche‐based and spatial processes in metacommunity structures. If there is no association, however, then stochastic processes may be interpreted as a possible factor driving community assembly.

We sampled 20 ponds and more than 5800 adult individual anurans in one of the world's largest Neotropical wetland systems, where an annual and unimodal flood pulse is the most important force operating in the landscape. We aimed to determine the relative importance of environmental abiotic factors (pond physical, chemical and morphometric variables) and geographic distance in structuring the metacommunity of aquatic‐breeding anurans during the end of the dry season.

We predicted that species composition would be strongly associated with environmental variables (niche‐based processes) and species richness would be positively related to habitat heterogeneity. Moreover, we expected that massive dispersal, promoted by the preceding flood season, would result in low evidence of spatial processes in the metacommunity structure of anurans.

Contrary to our prediction, we found minimal association between anuran composition and environmental gradients. Nonetheless, as expected, we found a positive relationship between species richness and environmental heterogeneity, and no spatial signal.

Our results suggest that the annual floods increase the probability that species disperse massively and colonise ponds in an unpredictable way. This may be interpreted as a case where stochastic processes are probably the main force structuring the anuran metacommunity in seasonally flooded systems.
Bird diversity and environmental heterogeneity in North America: a test of the area–heterogeneity trade‐off
Authors: Chocron Rachel , Flather Curtis H. , Kadmon Ronen
Published: July 2015

Aim

Deterministic niche theory predicts that increasing environmental heterogeneity increases species richness. In contrast, a recent stochastic model suggests that heterogeneity has a unimodal effect on species richness since high levels of heterogeneity reduce the effective area available per species, thereby increasing the likelihood of stochastic extinction (the ‘area–heterogeneity trade‐off’). We tested these contrasting predictions using data on bird distributions in North America.

Location

North America.

Methods

The effect of heterogeneity on species richness was tested using simultaneous autoregressive regression models based on two measures of heterogeneity (elevational range and land‐cover richness) each quantified at two scales (400 m, 5 km), three measures of species richness (observed, corrected for incomplete detection, and corrected for regional richness) and three variable selection methods [forced entry, Akaike information criterion (AIC)‐based and a null‐model approach]. Covariates included precipitation, temperature, elevation and latitude. For all variables, both linear and quadratic terms were included in the analyses.

Results

Overall, heterogeneity had a weak effect on species richness and the contribution of the quadratic term of heterogeneity to the explained variance was very small (< 1%). Nevertheless, in all 36 models, the coefficients of both the linear and quadratic terms of heterogeneity were statistically significant and the estimated inflection point was within the range of the data, as predicted by the area–heterogeneity trade‐off. Moreover, in 30 out of the 36 models, support for a unimodal effect of heterogeneity on species richness based on information theoretic criteria was strong (ΔAIC > 10), and in 22 of those 30 models the null hypothesis of a monotonically positive relationship could be rejected at the 0.05% significance level.

Main conclusions

Patterns of bird richness in North America were predominantly consistent with the predictions of the area–heterogeneity trade‐off. Future attempts to understand the mechanisms affecting species diversity should pay more attention to the potential consequences of this fundamental trade‐off.