bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Simulation and deep learning on point clouds for robot grasping
Authors: Wang Zhengtuo , Xu Yuetong , Xu Guanhua , Fu Jianzhong , Yu Jiongyan , Gu Tianyi 
Published: May 2021

Purpose
In this work, the authors aim to provide a set of convenient methods for generating training data, and then develop a deep learning method based on point clouds to estimate the pose of target for robot grasping.

Design/methodology/approach
This work presents a deep learning method PointSimGrasp on point clouds for robot grasping. In PointSimGrasp, a point cloud emulator is introduced to generate training data and a pose estimation algorithm, which, based on deep learning, is designed. After trained with the emulation data set, the pose estimation algorithm could estimate the pose of target.

Findings
In experiment part, an experimental platform is built, which contains a six-axis industrial robot, a binocular structured-light sensor and a base platform with adjustable inclination. A data set that contains three subsets is set up on the experimental platform. After trained with the emulation data set, the PointSimGrasp is tested on the experimental data set, and an average translation error of about 2–3 mm and an average rotation error of about 2–5 degrees are obtained.

Originality/value
The contributions are as follows: first, a deep learning method on point clouds is proposed to estimate 6D pose of target; second, a convenient training method for pose estimation algorithm is presented and a point cloud emulator is introduced to generate training data; finally, an experimental platform is built, and the PointSimGrasp is tested on the platform.
SMEs innovating in collaborative networks: how does absorptive capacity matter for innovation performance in times of good partnership quality?
Authors: Benhayoun Lamiae , Ayala Néstor Fabián , Le Dain Marie-Anne 
Published: May 2021

PurposeWe investigate the impact of Absorptive Capacity (ACAP) for SMEs embedded in Collaborative Networks (CNs) on innovation performance, considering the network stages and the influence of partnership quality.Design/methodology/approachWe use a mixed methodology consisting of a qualitative than a quantitative phase. The first stage relies on an in-depth literature review and 22 interviews with 17 manufacturing SMEs having operated in collaborative innovation projects to characterize the potential and realized ACAP of such SMEs in the creation and operation stages of a CN. The second phase aims at testing four hypotheses through a hierarchical regression based on 74 responses to a survey involving SMEs with prior CN experience.FindingsOur results explain how an SME’s ACAP in the creation stage affects its ACAP in the operation stage. We also demonstrate that this latter capability contributes positively to innovation performance in the CN. Furthermore, partnership quality was found to have counterproductive effects regarding potential ACAP.Practical implicationsWe provide manufacturing SMEs with guidance to deploy ACAP throughout their collaborative experience and overcome the potential pitfalls of good partnership quality.Originality/valueWe operationalize ACAP of manufacturing SMEs to contribute to mutual innovation goals in CNs and uncover its properties. We explain how this dynamic capability accumulates over the CN stages to result in higher innovation performance and show how it helps in striking a balance between the “dark” and “virtuous” sides of partnership quality.
Social branding framework to address smoking among alternative peer crowd teens
Authors: Stalgaitis Carolyn Ann , Jordan Jeffrey Washington , Djakaria Mayo , Saggese Daniel J. 
Published: May 2021

Purpose
This paper aims to describe the Social Branding framework, which uses lifestyle branding to change behaviour within psychographically-defined target audiences. Syke, a Social Branding programme to reduce cigarette use within the higher-risk alternative teen peer crowd in Virginia, USA, is presented as a case study with evaluation results.

Design/methodology/approach
Social Branding first creates an authentic lifestyle brand that appeals to a psychographically-defined audience. Once sociocultural authority is built, the lifestyle brand introduces tailored behavioural messaging using targeted messaging channels, relying on experiential marketing events and in-group influencers to align the desired behaviour with the audience’s social identity and values. The evaluation consisted of annual cross-sectional surveying (2011–2014; n = 2,266) on brand recall, liking, message comprehension and current smoking. Among those with recall, the prevalence of liking/comprehension categories (disliked and did not understand; liked or understood; liked and understood) and of smoking within categories was compared across years using chi-square tests. Multivariate logistic regression explored liking/comprehension as a predictor of smoking.

Findings
Recall, liking and comprehension were significantly higher in 2014 than in 2011, as was the proportion who both liked and understood Syke. Those who liked and understood Syke had half the odds of current smoking compared to those who disliked and did not understand it.

Originality/value
Syke reached, was liked by and was understood by the target audience. The Social Branding framework effectively appeals to and reaches higher-risk audiences, with learnings applicable to other behaviours and populations.
The name effect in customization service: the role of psychological ownership and self-threat
Authors: Kou Yan , Shuai Zhong , Powpaka Samart 
Published: May 2021

PurposeThis study investigated the effect of adding a customer's name onto a standard product on the customer's product attitude from the perspective of the name-letter effect and psychological ownership theory.Design/methodology/approachA 2 × 2 experiment was conducted to test the name effect in customization services. The main effects, mediation effects and moderation effects were analyzed using SPSS 22.0 and PROCESS 2.16.3.FindingsAdding customers' personal names onto a standard product positively affected their attitude toward the product, and these effects were mediated by psychological ownership. Furthermore, customers' responses were moderated by self-threat, whereby threatening customers' self-concept enhanced their attitude toward the product that had their name on it.Originality/valueThis study found a positive name effect that is applicable to customization services. It also identified mediating and moderating mechanisms underlying this effect. Therefore this study extends previous studies on customization services that have solely focusing on complex product personalization by focusing on a service that requires less effort and a more basic customization service. This study also extends previous findings about name-letter effects by focusing on the associations between an individual and an object that are induced by shared name letters and by studying how directly adding a personal name onto an object can influence these associations.
A look at university student service quality and satisfaction
Authors: Htang Ling Kee 
Published: May 2021

Purpose
The purpose of this study is to investigate university students’ perception of service quality and satisfaction in a developing country to guide quality improvement.

Design/methodology/approach
The study uses a quantitative survey design. A new instrument has been developed to measure student perceived service quality. Data was collected from 182 undergraduate students enrolled in a five-year BEd course at the one University of Education in Myanmar.

Findings
A significant gender difference was found only in one of the service quality dimensions, hostel facilities. There was a significant difference in student satisfaction in the year of study. Apart from cafeteria and hostel facilities, students’ perceived-level of service quality was significantly different. All service quality dimensions were significantly correlated with student satisfaction. Significant relationships were found among intention to leave the university, trust in management and overall satisfaction with the university.

Research limitations/implications
This study uses data collected from undergraduate students studying at the one University of Education in Myanmar.

Practical implications
The study adds on to the service quality literature on higher education in developing countries, specifically in Myanmar. The students’ perceived service quality dimensions resulting from this study can be applied by universities to evaluate their performance.

Originality/value
The research findings presented in this paper fill the gap in the existing literature by providing empirical knowledge on service quality measurement and student satisfaction in the higher education context. The study is among the first studies of students’ perception of service quality and satisfaction in Myanmar.
Manufacturers’ tailored responses to powerful supply chain partners
Authors: Tao Zhexiong , Li Shanling , Ray Saibal , Rebolledo Claudia 
Published: May 2021

Purpose
This study aims to investigate how relatively weaker manufacturers respond to the dominance of stronger suppliers and/or customers. The study also analyzes how the competitive intensity perceived by manufacturers moderates their responses to powerful chain partners.

Design/methodology/approach
Using hierarchical regression, data from 1,417 manufacturing companies sampled from the fifth and sixth versions of the International Manufacturing Strategy Survey were analyzed.

Findings
This study found that relatively weaker manufacturers often adopt exploration strategies to countervail the dominance of suppliers and adopt exploitation strategies to deal with more powerful customers. In dealing with both dominant suppliers and customers, relatively weaker manufacturers are prone to adopt exploration and exploitation strategies simultaneously and hence become ambidextrous. Furthermore, the link between dominance in supply chains and the exploration (exploitation) strategy is strengthened (weakened) as market competition perceived by manufacturers intensifies.

Originality/value
The contribution of this paper is multi-folds. First, this paper develops and test a novel theoretical model on how relatively weaker manufacturers create tailored strategies to defend their positions in the supply chain. Second, it integrates resource dependence theory and organizational learning theory to propose that relatively weaker manufacturers could use a unique configuration of exploration and exploitation strategies to counteract the dominance of their suppliers and customers. Third, it investigates supply chain power by considering the manufacturers’ upstream and downstream powerful partners together, rather than individually and fourth, it reveals that relationships linking supply chain power to manufacturers’ tailored strategies are contingent on competitive intensity.
Land use and elevation interact to shape bird functional and phylogenetic diversity and structure: Implications for designing optimal agriculture landscapes
Authors: Sreekar Rachakonda , Si Xingfeng , Sam Katerina , Liu Jiajia , Dayananda Salindra , Goodale Uromi , Kotagama Sarath , Goodale Eben 
Published: May 2021

Abstract

The conversion of rainforests into agriculture resulted in massive changes in species diversity and community structure. Although the conservation of the remaining rainforests is of utmost importance, identifying and creating a biodiversity‐friendly agriculture landscape is vital for preserving biodiversity and their functions.

Biodiversity studies in agriculture have often been conducted at low elevations. In this study, we compared the functional diversity (FD), phylogenetic diversity (PD) and community structure of birds along an interacting gradient of land use (protected rainforest, reserve buffer and agriculture) and elevation (low, middle and high) in Sri Lanka. Then, we measured the compositional change by identifying how ecological traits (dietary guild, vertical strata, body mass and dispersal ability) and conservation characteristics (forest dependence and threatened status) responded to land use types.

Elevation and land use interacted with each other to shape bird FD. Depending on the elevation, FD in agriculture was either higher or similar to forest. However, PD was similar across all elevation and land use types. Bird community structure in forest was functionally and phylogenetically clustered in comparison to agriculture. Insectivorous birds declined from forest to agriculture, and so did understorey and middle‐storey birds. But frugivorous and canopy birds did not change across land use types, while nectarivores, granivores and carnivores proliferated in agriculture. Forests were dominated by birds with low dispersal abilities, but birds in agriculture had more evenly distributed dispersal abilities. About half of all the individuals in agriculture were composed of forest species, several of which were threatened.

Synthesis and applications. Most farmers in Sri Lanka practice agriculture on small farms (c. 2 ha) and rely on services (e.g. pest control and pollination) provided by biodiversity for their livelihoods. Our results underline the important role of these heterogeneous agriculture landscapes in maintaining high functional diversity (FD) and harbouring several threatened species. While FD in agriculture was comparatively high, conservation decisions based on land use alone cannot be reliable, because land use effects were elevation dependent. Thus, priority setting exercises aimed at designing optimal agriculture landscapes should consider landscape features, in combination with elevation, to benefit both people and wildlife outside protected areas.
Habitat fragmentation and food security in crop pollination systems
Authors: Montoya Daniel , Haegeman Bart , Gaba Sabrina , De Mazancourt Claire , Loreau Michel 
Published: May 2021

Abstract

Ensuring stable food supplies is a major challenge for the 21st century. There is consensus that increased food production is necessary, but not sufficient, to achieve food security, and that agriculture should also aim at stabilizing crop production over time. In this context, biodiversity‐based approaches to food security are increasingly being supported based on the fact that biodiversity can increase and stabilize crop production. However, agricultural systems are often highly fragmented and our current understanding of how such fragmentation affects biodiversity and food production remains incomplete, thus limiting our capacity to manage agricultural landscapes for food security.

We developed a spatially explicit model of crop dynamics to investigate how the fragmentation of natural habitats for agricultural conversion impacts food production and food security, with a focus on animal‐dependent crop production.

Fragmentation produces a variety of spatial and biodiversity‐mediated effects that affect both the mean and stability (temporal invariability) of animal‐dependent crop production.

Fragmentation has a dual effect on animal‐dependent production. On the one hand, spatial aggregation of natural land decreases animal‐dependent production by reducing the Landscape Pollination Potential, a metric that captures fragmentation and pollinator spillover effects within the agricultural landscape. But aggregation increases animal‐dependent production by maintaining a higher pollinator diversity in larger fragments of natural habitat. The net effects of fragmentation on animal‐dependent crop production depend on the land‐use change pattern, the strength of the pollinator spillover to crop land and the animal pollination dependence of crops.

Synthesis. Our study sheds new light in the food security debate by showing that high and stable crop production depends on biodiversity and the spatial fragmentation of agricultural landscapes, and by revealing the ecological mechanisms of food security in crop pollination systems. Management for food security should consider factors such as pollinators’ spillover, the amount and spatial aggregation of semi‐natural habitat and the animal pollination dependence of crops. This information would be useful to design agricultural landscapes for high Landscape Pollination Potential. These results are highly relevant in the global change context, and given the worldwide trends in agriculture, which shifts towards more animal‐dependent crop production.
Foreign land acquisitions and environmental regulations: Does the pollution‐haven effect hold?
Authors: Raimondi Valentina , Scoppola Margherita 
Published: May 2021

AbstractThe recent wave of foreign land acquisitions (FLA) has raised several concerns in terms of their environmental and social sustainability. An unexplored issue is whether pollution‐haven mechanisms are driving the pattern of FLA. This paper investigates whether and how differences in environmental stringency between investing and target country affect the pattern of FLA. We estimate a panel gravity equation and use different indexes to measure the environmental stringency. Our results show that, by and large, differences in environmental stringency do affect FLA. The wider the gap in the environmental stringency between the investor and the target country, the higher is the number of firms investing abroad. Our results also show that the impact of environmental stringency differentials on FLA depends on the investor country and on corruption in the target country, and that in a number of estimations the choice over the index of stringency may be a relevant factor.
Progression from isolated gestational proteinuria to preeclampsia with severe features
Authors: Tzur Yossi , Rimon Eli , Geva Gil , Herzlich Jacky , Kupferminc Michael J. 
Published: May 2021

AbstractIntroductionThe association between the degree of isolated gestational proteinuria and preeclampsia with severe features and other placental‐mediated complications is controversial. The aim of this study was to evaluate whether a higher isolated proteinuria level is associated with an increased frequency of preeclampsia with severe features.Material and methodsThis retrospective cohort study included pregnant women who were past 24 weeks of gestation and were diagnosed as having new‐onset proteinuria ≥300 mg in a 24‐h urine collection. Exclusion criteria included diagnosis of preeclampsia within 72 h from admission, chronic renal disease or chronic hypertension. The study population was divided into tertiles by proteinuria level and the association with preeclampsia with severe features was assessed in both bivariable and multivariable analysis. The main outcome measures was the development of preeclampsia with severe features.ResultsOverall, 165 women were diagnosed with isolated gestational proteinuria, and 38 (23.0%) of them developed preeclampsia with severe features. Women in the increasing proteinuria tertile were more likely to develop preeclampsia with severe features (5.5%, 21.8%, 41.8%, respectively; p = 0.004). A multivariable logistic regression model controlling for background characteristics as well as gestational age at diagnosis, blood pressure, and kidney and liver function tests showed an increased risk of 14% to develop preeclampsia with severe features for every 500‐mg rise in proteinuria level (adjusted odds ratio = 1.14, 95% confidence interval 1.03–1.27).ConclusionsA higher isolated gestational proteinuria level was associated with an increased risk to develop preeclampsia with severe features among pregnant women past 24 weeks of gestation.
Novel imidazo[2,1‐b]thiazole‐based anticancer agents as potential focal adhesion kinase inhibitors: Synthesis, in silico and in vitro evaluation
Authors: Başoğlu Faika , Ulusoy‐Güzeldemirci Nuray , Akalın‐Çiftçi Gülşen , Çetinkaya Serap , Ece Abdulilah 
Published: May 2021

AbstractThe purpose of this study was to synthesize imidazo[2,1‐b]thiazole derivatives, characterize them with spectroscopical techniques and investigate for cytotoxic and apoptotic effects on glioma C6 cancer cell line. The in vitro anticancer activities were also investigated against focal adhesion kinase. Most of the compounds, particularly the derivatives carrying 3‐oxo‐1‐tiya‐4‐azaspiro[4.5]decane moiety, exhibited higher or comparable activities in comparison with the reference drug, cisplatin. Compounds with methyl, propyl, phenyl moieties at the eighth and second position of the spirothiazolidinone ring showed high FAK inhibitory activities. In addition, molecular docking studies shed light on the binding modes of the synthesized compounds. The critical interactions with amino acid residues located in the active site were revealed. The results obtained from both biological assay data and computational results might provide insight into developing new inhibitors against focal adhesion kinase.
A comparative study of human‐and rhesus‐specific antithymocyte globulins in Rhesus macaques
Authors: Shaw Brian I. , Schmitz Robin , Flores Walter J. , Magnani Diogo M. , Li Jie , Song Mingqing , Kirk Allan D. 
Published: May 2021

AbstractRabbit antithymocyte globulin (RATG) preparations are widely used in transplantation. They are developed in vivo against thymocytes and contain polyclonal antibodies specific for myriad cellular targets. The rhesus monkey is commonly used as a preclinical transplant model, but the fidelity of commercially available human‐specific RATGs to anticipate the effects of RATGs in rhesus has not been established. We therefore developed two rhesus‐specific ATGs (rhATG) and compared them to human‐specific RATG (huATG, Thymoglobulin®) in rhesus monkeys, assessing the magnitude and phenotype of depletion peripherally and in lymph nodes. Four primates were assigned to each group and received 20 mg/kg of drug. Depletion, repopulation, and changes in lymphocyte subsets were evaluated in peripheral blood and lymph nodes by flow cytometry over four months. We observed similar qualitative changes in lymphocyte subsets, but a generally more profound depletion with huATG compared to either rhATG. Peripheral homeostatic proliferation rather than thymic output was the major mechanism for repopulation with all RATGs. Repopulation was slower but qualitatively similar when examining RATGs in additional animals receiving concomitant chronic immunosuppression. Depletional induction is similar to human‐ and rhesus‐specific RATGs in rhesus macaques. Both rhesus‐ and human‐specific agents appear appropriate for preclinical modeling of clinical RATG use.