bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Partial Versus Total Trapeziectomy Thumb Arthroplasty: An Expertise-based Feasibility Study
Authors: Thoma Achilleas , Levis Carolyn , Patel Pinkal , Murphy Jessica , Duku Eric
Published: March 2018

Background:

There are numerous surgical techniques for the treatment of first carpometacarpal joint osteoarthritis, however, controversy exists as to whether outcomes differ between techniques. This feasibility study aimed to determine if a large-scale, health-related quality of life and functional outcomes study comparing 2 surgical techniques, complete trapeziectomy with ligament reconstruction and tendon interposition (T + LRTI) versus partial trapeziectomy and tendon interposition (PT + TI) arthroplasty, is possible.

Methods:

Patients with advanced stage arthritis (Eaton stages II–IV) of the thumb were invited to undergo either T + LRTI or PT + TI at 1 of the 2 hand surgery practices. Feasibility outcomes included: (1) Process: recruitment rate; (2) Resources: eligibility rate, eligibility criteria, retention, and compliance rates (completion of health-related quality of life questionnaires, Disabilities of the Arm, Shoulder, and Hand, EuroQol-5D-3L, and SF-36, and functional measurements, grip, key pinch, and tip pinch strength, at 1-week preoperatively and 1, 3, 6, and 12 months postoperatively); (3) Management: determining the practices’ commitment to the study; and (4) Scientific: calculation of the variances and treatment effect sizes (ES) of differences between procedures. Data from baseline measurements and 6-month follow-up were used for analysis.

Results:

Sixty patients were screened, of which 34 (57%) were eligible for surgery. Twenty-one (81%) of the 26 ineligible patients were excluded due to previous or additional planned surgical procedures on the same hand, particularly carpal tunnel release (n = 17). Twenty patients consented; 12 in the T + LRTI and 8 in the PT + TI group. The highest completion rate for the 3 questionnaires and the functional measurements, for both groups was at 6-month time point. Compliance rates for questionnaire completion at 6-months were calculated at 50% and 75% for the T + LRTI and PT + TI group, respectively. Functional measurement completion rate was 50% and 63% for T + LRTI and PT + TI groups, respectively. Treatment ES were group dependent, with Disabilities of the Arm, Shoulder, and Hand, EuroQol-5D-3L usual activities and anxiety/depression showing a large ES in the PT + TI group; the T + LRTI group showed large ES in EQ-5D state of health today.

Conclusions:

Authors conclude that a large-scale study is feasible and dependent on: (1) increasing sample size to account for the high attrition rate; (2) liberalizing inclusion criteria to include patients with carpal tunnel syndrome; (3) allotting more time at follow-up visits to ensure completion of all measurements; and (4) increasing staff involvement (ie, develop rapport with patients and maintain stability with research assistants).
Repair of Exposed Ahmed Glaucoma Valve Tubes: Long-term Outcomes
Authors: Einan-Lifshitz Adi , Belkin Avner , Mathew David , Sorkin Nir , Chan Clara C. , Buys Yvonne M. , Trope Graham E. , Rootman David S.
Published: March 2018

Purpose:

To assess the long-term outcomes of glaucoma drainage device (GDD) exposure repair with corneal lamellar patch graft covered by a buccal mucous membrane graft sutured to surrounding conjunctiva.

Methods:

In this retrospective longitudinal study, the charts of all patients who underwent buccal mucous membrane grafts combined with corneal lamellar patch grafts for exposed GDD tubes between the years 2006 to 2013 were reviewed. A minimum follow-up of 3 years was required for inclusion. Primary outcomes were categorized as complete success: adequate coverage throughout the study period without further intervention after 1 repair; qualified success: adequate coverage despite minor additional procedures (eg, suturing); failure: re-erosion of the GDD tube.

Results:

A total of 23 tube exposures were included. Average time from GDD insertion to first erosion was 54.0±38.9 months (range, 5 to 120). Complete success was achieved in 19 cases (82.6%), and qualified success in 1 case (4.3%). There were 3 failures (13.1%). Overall success (complete+qualified) after 1 or 2 buccal mucous membrane graft repairs was achieved in 22 of 23 cases (95.7%). Average follow-up time for the successful cases (complete+qualified) was 69.5±25.4 months (median, 72.5; range, 36 to 124). There was no difference in time to first erosion between the success (complete+qualified) and failure groups: 53.8±38.3 months (range, 5 to 120) and 62.3±51.6 months (range, 5 to 105), respectively (P=0.78).

Conclusions:

Buccal mucous membrane grafts in combination with a lamellar corneal patch graft is a viable surgical strategy for eroded GDDs, providing good long-term outcomes; however, later interventions may be needed.
The Benefits of Continuous Leisure Participation in Relocation Adjustment Among Residents of Long-Term Care Facilities
Authors: LIN Li-Jung , YEN Hsin-Yen
Published: March 2018

Background:

The rising population of older adults is transforming Taiwan society. Although many long-term care facilities now operate for older adults, the transition from the home environment to long-term facilities may cause multiple issues, including relocation stress syndrome, for new residents. Autonomy is a critical element of the human experience. Leisure, as an expression of autonomy, has been shown to enhance self-image and promote feelings of competence and mastery.

Purpose:

The aim of this study was to assess the relationship between participation in leisure activities and adjustment to residential care using the continuity theory.

Methods:

One hundred sixty-three qualified individuals from 11 long-term care institutions were recruited and completed the questionnaire. The sampling criteria for the study were age (55+ years), appropriate cognitive skills, and residency (less than 5 years). Interviews conducted by trained interviewers were used to collect data. Measured outcomes included leisure participation; physical, psychological, and social adjustments; and background information. Cluster analysis, descriptive analysis, multivariate analysis of variance, and least significant difference test were used in analysis.

Results:

Type of admission (voluntary/mandated) and type of leisure participation significantly affected the level of relocation adjustment success. Four leisure behavior categories were identified, including reduced participation, expanded participation, active participation, and continuing participation. The participants in the active and continuing participation categories had significantly higher psychological adjustment than their peers in the reduced participation category. Moreover, the continuing participation category had a significantly better level of social adjustment than their expanded participation category peers. Continuous and active participation categories had a beneficial outcome in relocation adjustment.

Conclusions:

The findings support that, in general, residents of long-term care facilities who participate continuously in leisure activities adjust better psychologically and socially to their new life in these facilities than individuals in the other participation categories. As continuity of participation in leisure activities is important for successful aging, institutions should facilitate the continuing leisure behavior of new residents.
Neurological Sequelae and Clinical Outcomes After Lung Transplantation
Authors: Smith Patrick J. , Stonerock Gregory L. , Ingle Krista K. , Saulino Caroline K. , Hoffman Benson , Wasserman Brian , Blumenthal James A. , Palmer Scott M. , Klapper Jacob A. , Hartwig Matthew G. , Esposito Valentine R. , Snyder Laurie D.
Published: March 2018

Background

Neurological complications are common after lung transplantation. However, no large cohort studies have examined the incidence, predictors, and clinical significance of neurological events sustained by lung transplant recipients.

Methods

We conducted a retrospective cohort analysis of a consecutive series of lung transplant recipients, transplanted at Duke University Medical Center between May 2014 and February 2017 (n = 276). Early neurological complications (ie, occurring during the first week after transplant) were documented by transplant mental health specialists and included delirium, ischemic injury, and posterior reversible encephalopathy syndrome. Analyses accounted for age, native disease, sex, type of transplant, lung allocation score, and primary graft dysfunction. The objectives of the study were to characterize the prevalence and predictors of early neurological sequelae (NSE), occurring during the first week posttransplant, and the association between NSE and subsequent clinical outcomes, including length of stay and mortality.

Results

Neurological sequelae were common, occurring in 123 (45%) patients. Fifty-seven patients died over a follow-up interval of 2.1 years. The most common NSE were postoperative delirium (n = 110 [40%]) and posterior reversible encephalopathy syndrome (n = 12 [4%]), followed by stroke/transient ischemic attack and neurotoxicity. Higher lung allocation score was the strongest predictor of delirium. The presence of a NSE was associated with longer length of hospital stay (32 days vs 17 days, P < 0.001) and greater mortality (hazard ratio, 1.90; 95% confidence interval, 1.09-3.32], P = 0.024), with the greatest mortality risk occurring approximately 2 years after transplantation.

Conclusions

Neurological events are relatively common after lung transplantation and associated with adverse clinical outcomes.
An empirical test of the role of small-scale transmission in large-scale disease dynamics
Authors: Mihaljevic Joseph R. , Polivka Carlos M. , Mehmel Constance J. , Li Chentong , Dukic Vanja , Dwyer Greg
Published: March 2018

A key assumption of models of infectious disease is that population-scale spread is driven by transmission between host individuals at small scales. This assumption, however, is rarely tested, likely because observing disease transmission between host individuals is non-trivial in many infectious diseases. Quantifying the transmission of insect baculoviruses at a small scale is in contrast straightforward. We fit a disease model to data from baculovirus epizootics (= epidemics in animals) at the scale of whole forests, while using prior parameter distributions constructed from branch-scale experiments. Our experimentally-constrained model fits the large-scale data very well, supporting the role of small-scale transmission mechanisms in baculovirus epizootics. We further compared our experimentally-based model to an unconstrained model that ignores our experimental data, serving as a proxy for models that include large-scale mechanisms. This analysis supports our hypothesis that small-scale mechanisms are important, especially individual variability in host susceptibility to the virus. Comparison of transmission rates in the two models, however, suggests that large-scale mechanisms increase transmission compared to our experimental estimates. Our study shows that small-scale and large-scale mechanisms drive forest-wide epizootics of baculoviruses, and that synthesizing mathematical models with data collected across scales is key to understanding the spread of infectious disease.
Emergent orientation selectivity from random networks in mouse visual cortex
Authors: Pattadkal J.J. , Mato G. , van Vreeswijk C. , Priebe N. J. , Hansel D.
Published: March 2018

We study the connectivity principles underlying the emergence of orientation selectivity in primary visual cortex (V1) of mammals lacking an orientation map. We present a computational model in which random connectivity gives rise to orientation selectivity that matches experimental observations. It predicts that mouse V1 neurons should exhibit intricate receptive fields in the two-dimensional frequency domain, causing shift in orientation preferences with spatial frequency. We find evidence for these features in mouse V1 using calcium imaging and intracellular whole cell recordings.
Third-generation in situ hybridization chain reaction: multiplexed, quantitative, sensitive, versatile, robust
Authors: Choi Harry M.T. , Schwarzkopf Maayan , Fornace Mark E. , Acharya Aneesh , Artavanis Georgios , Stegmaier Johannes , Cunha Alexandre , Pierce Niles A.
Published: March 2018

In situ hybridization based on the mechanism of hybridization chain reaction (HCR) has addressed multi-decade challenges to imaging mRNA expression in diverse organisms, offering a unique combination of multiplexing, quantitation, sensitivity, resolution, and versatility. Here, with third-generation in situ HCR, we augment these capabilities using probes and amplifiers that combine to provide automatic background suppression throughout the protocol, ensuring that even if reagents bind non-specifically within the sample they will not generate amplified background. Automatic background suppression dramatically enhances performance and robustness, combining the benefits of higher signal-to-background with the convenience of using unoptimized probe sets for new targets and organisms. In situ HCR v3.0 enables multiplexed quantitative mRNA imaging with subcellular resolution in the anatomical context of whole-mount vertebrate embryos, multiplexed quantitative mRNA flow cytometry for high-throughput single-cell expression profiling, and multiplexed quantitative single-molecule mRNA imaging in thick autofluorescent samples.

In situ hybridization chain reaction (HCR) v3.0 exploits automatic background suppression to enable multiplexed quantitative mRNA imaging and flow cytometry with dramatically enhanced ease-of-use and performance.
Plk1 overexpression suppresses tumor development by inducing chromosomal instability
Authors: de Cárcer Guillermo , Venkateswaran Sharavan Vishaan , Salgueiro Lorena , El Bakkali Aicha , Somogyi Kalman , Rowald Konstantina , Montañes Pablo , Sanclemente Manuel , Escobar Beatriz , de Martino Alba , McGranahan Nicholas , Malumbres Marcos , Sotillo Rocío
Published: March 2018

Polo-like kinase 1 (Plk1) is a protein kinase currently considered as an attractive cancer target due to its critical role in the cell division cycle. Plk1 is overexpressed in a wide spectrum of human tumors, being frequently considered as an oncogene. However, its contribution to tumor development is unclear. Using a new inducible knock-in mouse model we report here that Plk1 overexpression does not favor cell proliferation but rather results in abnormal chromosome segregation and cytokinesis, leading to the formation of polyploid cells with reduced proliferative potential. Mechanistically, these cytokinesis defects correlate with defective loading of Cep55 and ESCRT complexes to the abscission bridge during cytokinesis in a Plk1 kinase-dependent manner. In vivo, elevated levels of Plk1 markedly prevent the development of mammary gland tumors induced either by KrasG12D or Her2, in the presence of increased rates of chromosome instability. In patients, higher Plk1 expression levels are associated with significantly increased overall survival in breast cancer subtypes. These data suggest that, despite the therapeutic benefits of inhibiting Plk1 due to its essential role in tumor cell cycles, Plk1 overexpression has tumor suppressive properties by perturbing mitotic progression and cytokinesis.
The pricing of loan insurance based on the Gram-Charlier option model
Authors: Zhang Yaojie , Wei Yu , Shi Benshan
Published: March 2018

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to develop a loan insurance pricing model allowing for the skewness and kurtosis existing in underlying asset returns.

Design/methodology/approach

Using the theory of Gram-Charlier option, the authors first derive a closed-form solution of the Gram-Charlier pricing model. To address the difficulties in implementing the pricing model, the authors subsequently propose an iterative method to estimate skewness and kurtosis in practical application, which shows a relatively fast convergence rate in the empirical test.

Findings

Not only the theoretical analysis but also the empirical evidence shows that the effects of skewness and kurtosis on loan insurance premium tend to be negative and positive, respectively. Furthermore, the actual values of skewness and kurtosis are usually negative and positive, respectively, which leads to the empirical result that the pricing model ignoring skewness and kurtosis substantially underestimates loan insurance premium.

Originality/value

This paper proposes a loan insurance pricing model considering the skewness and kurtosis of asset returns, in which the authors use the theory of Gram-Charlier option. More importantly, the authors further propose a novel iterative method to estimate skewness and kurtosis in practical application. The empirical evidence suggests that the Gram-Charlier pricing model captures the information content of skewness and kurtosis.
Diversity management and OCB: the connection evidence from the Lebanese banking sector
Authors: Bizri Rima
Published: March 2018

Purpose

Research has shown that organizational citizenship behavior (OCB) has a positive and significant impact on organizational performance at a time when traditional monitoring and supervision practices are showing a declining influence. This has triggered numerous research undertakings exploring the antecedents of OCB, and how it can best be enhanced. Though many variables have been identified as predictors of OCB, the purpose of this paper is to focus on the influence of diversity management on OCB and two of its important antecedents: organizational commitment and work engagement.

Design/methodology/approach

The study used a survey instrument of pre-validated scales to measure banking sector employees’ perceptions of their affective and normative commitment (NC), OCB, and diversity management practices at their organizations. Structural equation modeling was used with AMOS (20) to empirically assess the relationships among constructs.

Findings

This study empirically confirmed the positive impact of diversity management on employees’ feelings of affective commitment to the organization and engagement at work, which in turn positively impact employees’ OCB. However, the findings negate any direct influence of diversity management on NC or on OCB.

Originality/value

This study fills a gap in the literature by questioning the validity of applying the social exchange theory to the concept of OCB.
The double-edged sword of having a unique perspective
Authors: Gacilo Jesus , Steinheider Brigitte , Stone Thomas H. , Hoffmeister Vivian , Jawahar I.M. , Garrett Tara
Published: March 2018

Purpose

Drawing on social identity theory and the concept of perceived organizational support, the authors conducted an online, exploratory survey of 150 lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) workers in 28 countries to examine whether being LGBT provides a unique perspective in the workplace, if they perceive their employer appreciates this perspective, and what effects this has on perceived discrimination and perceived career advancement. Collectively these questions have implications for work engagement and career prospects of LGBT workers. The paper aims to discuss these issues.

Design/methodology/approach

Multiple regression and qualitative analyses were used to analyze Likert scale questions along with open-ended options.

Findings

The majority of respondents agree that being LGBT offers a unique perspective compared to heterosexual workers. The more respondents agree that they have a different perspective, the more they feel discriminated against. After controlling for demographic variables as well as education, tenure, job level, and disclosure, hierarchical linear regression analyses showed offering a unique perspective increases perceived career advantages. Results also showed increased perceived career advantages if the employer appreciates this perspective. Results of a second regression analysis also showed that a unique perspective is associated with more perceived discrimination, unless their employer appreciates this perspective.

Research limitations/implications

Although single-item measures and a small international sample limit generalizability, rich qualitative responses provide insights into LGBT attitudes across multiple countries.

Practical implications

This study can be applied to future understandings of the diverse nature of LGBT perceptions and attitudes in the workplace.

Social implications

This is one of the first studies to examine LGBT perceptions that they possess a unique perspective that should be valued by employers.

Originality/value

This exploratory study is one of the first to recognize unique LGBT perspectives and examine the relationship between their perspectives and perceived discrimination and career advantages.
A representative organizational diversity metric: a dashboard measure for executive action
Authors: Buttner E. Holly , Tullar William Latimer
Published: March 2018

Purpose

Workforce analytics is an evolving measurement approach in human resource (HR) planning and strategy implementation. Workforce analytics can help organizations manage one of their most important resources: their human capital. The purpose of this paper is to propose a diversity metric, called the D-Metric, as a new tool for HR planning. The D-Metric can be used to assess the demographic representativeness of employees across skill categories of an organization’s workforce compared to its relevant labor markets.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors present a real example and discuss possible applications of the D-Metric in HRM strategic planning and diversity research.

Findings

The D-Metric is a statistic useful in assessing demographic representativeness in the occupational categories of an organization’s workforce compared to the demographics of its relevant labor markets. The methodology could be implemented to assess an organization’s work force representativeness on dimensions such as race, sex, age and pay levels. When the labor market is unitary, without measurable variance, a substitute metric, the U-Metric also presented in this paper, can be used.

Research limitations/implications

Use of the D-Metric requires publicly available labor market data with variance across labor market segments.

Originality/value

There currently is no published metric that evaluates the representativeness of an organization’s work force relative to its relevant labor markets. Many organizations seek a demographically representative workforce to better understand their diverse customer segments. Monitoring the representativeness of an organization’s work force, as captured in Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO-1) forms in the USA, for example, is an important component of HR management strategy. From a legal perspective, the D-Metric or the alternative U-Metric, could be useful in showing progress toward a demographically representative work force.
The impact of biomedical students’ ethnicity and gender
Authors: Nittrouer Christine , O’Brien Katharine Ridgway , Hebl Michelle , Trump-Steele Rachel C.E. , Gardner Danielle M. , Rodgers John
Published: March 2018

Purpose

There has been a great deal of research published on the lower success rates of women and underrepresented (UR) students in Science, technology, engineering, and mathematics-related (STEM) occupations. For biomedical scientists in particular, many of the obstacles to success occur during graduate training and may be related, at least in part, to certain demographic characteristics (i.e. gender or ethnicity). In particular, women and UR students may be positioned disproportionately into labs with fewer resources and less productive faculty advisors. The paper aims to discuss these issues.

Design/methodology/approach

The present study examines the distribution of biomedical science graduate students into research laboratories, based on the gender and ethnicity of both students and faculty advisors. This is archival data that were collected via publicly available information on the internet.

Findings

Results indicate that female (vs male) students and UR (vs white and Asian) students are paired with advisors who are less successful (i.e. fewer publications, lower h-indices). Additionally, the data show patterns of homophily in that female (vs male) and white and Asian (vs UR) students are more likely to be paired with female and white and Asian advisors, respectively.

Originality/value

This research uses real-world, archival data to demonstrate that phenomena suggested in previous literature (e.g. less favorable pairings for female and UR students, homophilic pairings) occurs with this specific population.
Asian Care Certificate (ACC): a care quality assurance framework
Authors: Talaie Tony
Published: March 2018

Purpose

Quality assuring elderly care through a viable and feasible standard framework is a major challenge for Asian governments. Although several attempts have been made to tackle foreign care worker (FCW) shortage, assuring the quality of the care they provide has been overlooked. The original framework allowed a better control over service quality to assure the elderly about their care according to the agreed standards. The paper aims to discuss these issues.

Design/methodology/approach

Through several Japanese Governmental meetings, a new Asian Care Certificate (ACC) program is discussed based on the Japanese Care Certificate (JCC). The governments’ representatives adopted the JCC to form the ACC, which enables the ACC board to evaluate care workers and to intervene whenever the desired quality level is not achieved.

Findings

The author describes a new program. The findings of this paper will be confirmed when the ACC is implemented.

Practical implications

Using the ACC framework, the challenge in providing a high-quality care service using FCWs across Asia would be partly resolved. FCWs’ quality of life might also gradually improve especially regarding to their human rights.

Originality/value

The ACC provides a new framework. Its value is recognized if one considers that many Asian populations are rapidly aging and many governments compromise quality by employing overseas workers to solve care worker shortages.
Association between outpatient orthopedic surgery costs and healthcare facility characteristics
Authors: Watanabe Yuichi , Nakata Yoshinori
Published: March 2018

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine the association between outpatient orthopedic surgery costs and Japan’s healthcare facilities using a large-scale Japanese medical claims database.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors obtained reimbursement claims data for 8,588 patients who underwent orthopedic surgery between April 1 and September 30, 2014 at 3,347 Japanese healthcare facilities. Regression analysis, using ordinary least squares, examined the association between outpatient orthopedic surgery costs and healthcare facility characteristics. By using surgical fees as proxy for the surgical costs, the authors defined three dependent variables: surgical cost for each outpatient orthopedic surgery; pre- and post-operative cost one month before and after a surgical operation; and total cost for each patient. The authors also defined five independent variables, which capture healthcare facility characteristics and patient-specific factors: bed count; whether healthcare facilities are reimbursed in a diagnosis procedure combination system; patient’s age; sex; and anatomical surgical sites.

Findings

The authors analyzed 6,456 outpatient orthopedic surgical cases performed at 3,085 healthcare facilities. There were significant differences in the surgical costs for outpatient orthopedic surgery among different healthcare facilities by total beds (p=0.000). Multivariate regression analysis shows that surgical costs for outpatient orthopedic surgery are positively and significantly associated with healthcare facilities classified by total beds after adjusting for patient-specific characteristics (p<0.05).

Originality/value

This is the first research to examine the association between costs for outpatient orthopedic surgery and healthcare facility characteristics in Japan. This study via the multivariate regression method showed that outpatient orthopedic surgery is likely to cost higher as healthcare facility size increased. The average incremental costs for each outpatient orthopedic surgery per 100 beds were calculated at $48.5 for surgery, $40.7 for pre- and post-operative care, and $89.2 total cost.
Improving Tanzanian childbirth service quality
Authors: Jaribu Jennie , Penfold Suzanne , Green Cathy , Manzi Fatuma , Schellenberg Joanna
Published: March 2018

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to describe a quality improvement (QI) intervention in primary health facilities providing childbirth care in rural Southern Tanzania.

Design/methodology/approach

A QI collaborative model involving district managers and health facility staff was piloted for 6 months in 4 health facilities in Mtwara Rural district and implemented for 18 months in 23 primary health facilities in Ruangwa district. The model brings together healthcare providers from different health facilities in interactive workshops by: applying QI methods to generate and test change ideas in their own facilities; using local data to monitor improvement and decision making; and health facility supervision visits by project and district mentors. The topics for improving childbirth were deliveries and partographs.

Findings

Median monthly deliveries increased in 4 months from 38 (IQR 37-40) to 65 (IQR 53-71) in Mtwara Rural district, and in 17 months in Ruangwa district from 110 (IQR 103-125) to 161 (IQR 148-174). In Ruangwa health facilities, the women for whom partographs were used to monitor labour progress increased from 10 to 57 per cent in 17 months.

Research limitations/implications

The time for QI innovation, testing and implementation phases was limited, and the study only looked at trends. The outcomes were limited to process rather than health outcome measures.

Originality/value

Healthcare providers became confident in the QI method through engagement, generating and testing their own change ideas, and observing improvements. The findings suggest that implementing a QI initiative is feasible in rural, low-income settings.
Risk and organizational effectiveness
Authors: Brookfield David
Published: March 2018

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to explore how risk management is supported by and interacts with process or transactions “technologies” to inform and influence organizational behavior as it changes in the face of risk. Accounting systems represent a collection of processes that are designed to support broader organizational or firm activities. As such, they represent information processes that help inform finance management and control, strategy, and risk management.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper synthesizes work relating to transaction cost economics that describes the nature of the organization and indicate how this perspective may be developed to incorporate the dynamic forces that change an organization’s approach to risk. From a practical perspective, the value, relevance and limitations of accounting information may be more clearly determined.

Findings

The information perspective of accounting helps practitioners understand and decide how activities within their organization have impact and are related with one another. In this sense, accounting is not merely a book keeping system, nor a payments process, nor merely a narrow functional device that seeks to minimize tax liabilities, for example. Instead, accounting-based information conveys the importance of context and of viewing the organization as a whole as an open system within the organization that both transmits and receives information, including accounting information, and then adapts and co-evolves with whole-organizational forces to shape how the firm responds to environmental factors, such as risk.

Practical implications

The paper raises challenges to the conceptualization and compartmentalization of risk as typified in risk management frameworks such as COSO and provides direction and focus to identify how accounting systems can contribute to risk management.

Originality/value

The paper offers a perspective that allows us to synthesize our understanding of how management can seek to manage risk by seeing risk as part of a broader range of “transactions technologies” with which a firm engages. It identifies how accounting technologies interact with risk in shaping organizational or whole firm, architecture as an adaptation that mitigates or embraces risk.
Just a Lemonade Stand An Introduction to Student Entrepreneurship
Authors: Gupta Alka , Gupta Vishal
Published: March 2018

Despite the increasing popularity of entrepreneurship among students in colleges and university, there is a surprising scarcity of theoretical or empirical research on this topic. In this article, we define the concept of student entrepreneurship, delineate its domain, and demarcate its boundaries. We propose a preliminary typology of student entrepreneurship rooted in the works of three leading economists from the Austrian School of Economics: Joseph Schumpeter, Israel Kirzner, and Ludwig Lachmann. We also identify and discuss important challenges associated with the practice of student entrepreneurship. The article concludes by advancing a future research agenda for the study of student entrepreneurship.
Sitting time, physical activity and the risk of lower urinary tract symptoms: a cohort study
Authors: Park Heung Jae , Park Chang Hoo , Chang Yoosoo , Ryu Seungho
Published: March 2018

Objectives

To examine the association of sitting time and physical activity level with the incidence of lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) in a large sample of Korean men.

Materials and Methods

A cohort study was performed in 69 795 Korean men, free of LUTS at baseline, who were followed up annually or biennially for a mean of 2.6 years. Physical activity level and sitting time were assessed using the validated Korean version of the International Physical Activity Questionnaire Short Form. LUTS were assessed using the International Prostate Symptom Score (IPSS) and clinically significant LUTS were defined as an IPSS score ≥8.

Results

Over 175 810.4 person‐years, 9 217 people developed significant LUTS (incidence rate, 39.0 per 1 000 person‐years). In a multivariable‐adjusted model, both low physical activity level and prolonged sitting time were independently associated with the incidence of LUTS. The hazard ratios (95% confidence intervals [CIs]) for incident LUTS comparing minimally active and health‐enhancing physically active groups vs the inactive group were 0.94 (95% CI 0.89–0.99) and 0.93 (95% CI 0.87–0.99), respectively (P for trend 0.011). The hazard ratios (95% CIs) for LUTS comparing 5–9 and ≥10 h/day sitting time vs <5 h/day were 1.08 (95% CI 1.00–1.24) and 1.15 (95% CI 1.06–1.24), respectively (P for trend <0.001).

Conclusions

Prolonged sitting time and low physical activity levels were positively associated with the development of LUTS in a large sample of middle‐aged Korean men. This result supports the importance of both reducing sitting time and promoting physical activity for preventing LUTS.
The Role of Protein Loss and Denaturation in Determining Outcomes of Heating, Cryotherapy, and Irreversible Electroporation on Cardiomyocytes
Authors: Liu Feng , Roy Priyatanu , Shao Qi , Jiang Chunlan , Choi Jeunghwan , Chung Connie , Mehra Dushyant , Bischof John C.
Published: March 2018

Atrial fibrillation (AF) currently affects millions of people in the U.S. alone. Focal therapy is an increasingly attractive treatment for AF that avoids the debilitating effects of drugs for disease control. Perhaps the most widely used focal therapy for AF is heat-based radiofrequency (heating), although cryotherapy (cryo) is rapidly replacing it due to a reduction in side effects and positive clinical outcomes. A third focal therapy, irreversible electroporation (IRE), is also being considered in some settings. This study was designed to help guide treatment thresholds and compare mechanism of action across heating, cryo, and IRE. Testing was undertaken on HL-1 cells, a well-established cardiomyocyte cell line, to assess injury thresholds for each treatment method. Cell viability, as assessed by Hoechst and propidium iodide (PI) staining, was found to be minimal after exposure to temperatures ≤−40 °C (cryo), ≥60 °C (heating), and when field strengths ≥1500 V/cm (IRE) were used. Viability was then correlated to protein denaturation fraction (PDF) as assessed by Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, and protein loss fraction (PLF) as assessed by bicinchoninic acid (BCA) assay after the three treatments. These protein changes were assessed both in the supernatant and the pellet of cell suspensions post-treatment. We found that dramatic viability loss (≥50%) correlated strongly with ≥12% protein change (PLF, PDF or a combination of the two) in every focal treatment. These studies help in defining both cellular thresholds and protein-based mechanisms of action that can be used to improve focal therapy application for AF.
Transient Cold Flow Simulation of Fast Fluidized Bed Fuel Reactors for Chemical-Looping Combustion
Authors: Yang Mengqiao , Banerjee Subhodeep , Agarwal Ramesh K.
Published: March 2018

Circulating fluidized bed in chemical-looping combustion (CLC) is a recent technology that provides great advantage for gas–solid interaction and efficiency. In order to obtain a thorough understanding of this technology and to assess its effectiveness for industrial scale deployment, numerical simulations are conducted. Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations are performed with dense discrete phase model (DDPM) to simulate the gas–solid interactions. CFD commercial software ansysfluent is used for the simulations. Two bed materials of different particle density and diameter, namely the molochite and Fe100, are used in studying the hydrodynamics and particle behavior in a fuel reactor corresponding to the experimental setup of Haider et al. (2016, “A Hydrodynamic Study of a Fast-Bed Dual Circulating Fluidized Bed for Chemical Looping Combustion,” Energy Technol., 4(10), pp. 1254–1262.) at Cranfield University in the UK. Both the simulations show satisfactory agreement with the experimental data for both the static pressure and volume fraction at various heights above the gas inlet in the reactor. It is found that an appropriate drag law should be used in the simulation depending on the particle size and flow conditions in order to obtain accurate results. The simulations demonstrate the ability of CFD/DDPM to accurately capture the physics of circulating fluidized bed-based CLC process at pilot scale which can be extended to industrial scale projects.
Secure Codesign: Achieving Optimality Without Revealing
Authors: Chaitanya Chaduvula Siva , Atallah Mikhail J. , Panchal Jitesh H.
Published: March 2018

Information leakage can lead to loss of intellectual property and competitive edge. One of the primary sources of information leakage in collaborative design is sharing confidential information with collaborators, who may be also collaborating with competitors. Hiding information from collaborators is challenging in codesign because it can lead to inferior and suboptimal solutions. Therefore, there is a need for techniques that enable designers to protect confidential information from their collaborators while achieving solutions that are as good as those obtained when full information is shared. To address this need, we propose a secure codesign (SCD) framework that enables designers to achieve optimal solutions without sharing confidential information. It is built on two principles: adding/multiplying a parameter with a large random number hides the value of the parameter, and adding/multiplying a large number is orders of magnitude faster than using existing cryptographic techniques. Building on the protocols for basic arithmetic computations, developed in our earlier work, we establish protocols for higher order computations involved in design problems. The framework is demonstrated using three codesign scenarios: requirements-driven codesign, objective-driven codesign, and Nash noncooperation. We show that the proposed SCD framework enables designers to achieve optimal solutions in all three scenarios. The proposed framework is orders of magnitude faster than competing (but impractical for engineering design) cryptographic methods such as homomorphic encryption, without compromising on precision in computations. Hence, the proposed SCD framework is a practical approach for maintaining confidentiality of information during codesign.
Mathematical Treatise to Model Dihedral Energy in the Multiscale Modeling of Two-Dimensional Nanomaterials
Authors: Singh Sandeep , Patel B. P.
Published: March 2018

An approximate mathematical treatise is proposed to improve the accuracy of multiscale models for nonlinear mechanics of two-dimensional (2D) nanomaterials by taking into account the contribution of dihedral energy term in the nonlinear constitutive model for the generalized deformation (three nonzero components of each strain and curvature tensors) of the corresponding continuum. Twelve dihedral angles per unit cell of graphene sheet are expressed as functions of strain and curvature tensor components. The proposed model is employed to study the bending modulus of graphene sheets under finite curvature. The atomic interactions are modeled using first- and second-generation reactive empirical bond order (REBO) potentials with the modifications in the former to include dihedral energy term for accurate prediction of bending stiffness coefficients. The constitutive law is obtained by coupling the atomistic and continuum deformations through Cauchy–Born rule. The present model will facilitate the investigations on the nonlinear mechanics of graphene sheets and carbon nanotubes (CNTs) with greater accuracy as compared to those reported in the literature without considering dihedral energy term in multiscale modeling.
Backstepping Sliding Mode Gaussian Insulin Injection Control for Blood Glucose Regulation in Type I Diabetes Patient
Authors: Patra Akshaya Kumar , Rout Pravat Kumar
Published: March 2018

New efforts have been made to build up prototypes of subcutaneous closed-loop systems for controlling blood glucose (BG) levels in type I diabetes mellitus (TIDM) patients with the development of clinically accurate continuous glucose monitors, automated micro-insulin dispenser (MID), and control algorithms. There is an urgency to develop new control algorithm to determine the desired dose of insulin for maintaining normal BG levels. As a solution to the above issue, a novel backstepping sliding mode Gaussian controller (BSMGC) is proposed whose gains vary dynamically with respect to the error signal. A feedback control law is formulated by a hybrid approach based on BSMGC. A ninth-order linearized state-space model of a nonlinear TIDM patient with the MID is formulated for the design of the BSMGC. This controller is evaluated, and the results are compared with other recently published control techniques. The output responses clearly reveal the better performance of the proposed method to control the BG level within the range of normoglycaemia in terms of accuracy, robustness and handling uncertainties.
Vehicle Dynamics Control of eAWD Hybrid Electric Vehicle Using Slip Ratio Optimization and Allocation
Authors: Alcantar Jose Velazquez , Assadian Francis , Kuang Ming
Published: March 2018

Hybrid electric vehicles (HEV) offer improved fuel efficiency compared to their conventional counterparts at the expense of adding complexity and at times, reduced total power. As a result, HEV generally lack the dynamic performance that customers enjoy. To address this issue, the paper presents a HEV with electric all-wheel drive (eAWD) capabilities via the use of a torque vectoring electric rear axle drive (TVeRAD) unit to power the rear axle. The addition of TVeRAD to a front wheel drive HEV improves the total power output. To further improve the handling characteristics of the vehicle, the TVeRAD unit allows for wheel torque vectoring (TV) at the rear axle. A bond graph model of the proposed drivetrain model is developed and used in cosimulation with carsim. The paper proposes a control system, which utilizes slip ratio optimization to allocate control to each tire. The optimization algorithm is used to obtain optimal slip ratio targets to at each tire such that the targets avoid tire saturation. The Youla parameterization technique is used to develop robust tracking controllers for each axle. The proposed control system is ultimately tested on the drivetrain model with a high fidelity carsim vehicle model for validation. Simulation results show that the control system is able to maximize vehicle longitudinal performance while avoiding tire saturation on a low μ surface. More importantly, the control system is able to track the desired yaw moment request on a high-speed double-lane change (DLC) maneuver through the use of the TVeRAD to improve the handling characteristic of the vehicle.
A Review on Water Vapor Pressure Model for Moisture Permeable Materials Subjected to Rapid Heating
Authors: Chen Liangbiao , Zhou Jiang , Chu Hsing-Wei , Zhang Guoqi , Fan Xuejun
Published: March 2018

This paper presents a comprehensive review and comparison of different theories and models for water vapor pressure under rapid heating in moisture permeable materials, such as polymers or polymer composites. Numerous studies have been conducted, predominately in microelectronics packaging community, to obtain the understanding of vapor pressure evolution during soldering reflow for encapsulated moisture. Henry's law-based models are introduced first. We have shown that various models can be unified to a general form of solution. Two key parameters are identified for determining vapor pressure: the initial relative humidity and the net heat of solution. For materials with nonlinear sorption isotherm, the analytical solutions for maximum vapor pressure are presented. The predicted vapor pressure, using either linear sorption isotherm (Henry's law) or nonlinear sorption isotherm, can be greater than the saturated water vapor pressure. Such an “unphysical” pressure solution needs to be further studied. The predicted maximum vapor pressure is proportional to the initial relative humidity, implying the history dependence. Furthermore, a micromechanics-based vapor pressure model is introduced, in which the vapor pressure depends on the state of moisture in voids. It is found that the maximum vapor pressure stays at the saturated vapor pressure provided that the moisture is in the mixed liquid/vapor phase in voids. And, the vapor pressure depends only on the current state of moisture condition. These results are contradictory to the model predictions with sorption isotherm theories. The capillary effects are taken into consideration for the vapor pressure model using micromechanics approach.