bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
A disaster typology towards informing humanitarian relief supply chain design
Authors: Mackay Jonathon , Munoz Albert , Pepper Matthew 
Published: April 2019

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to construct a typology of a disaster that informs humanitarian-relief supply chain (HRSC) design across the stages of disaster relief.Design/methodology/approachIn addition to an interdisciplinary review of pertinent literature, this paper utilises a typology construction method to propose theoretically and methodologically sound dimensions of disasters.FindingsWhilst semantic arguments surrounding the concept of a “disaster” are ongoing, the authors propose three typologies based upon six dimensions that serve as interdependent variables informing resultant HRSC design considerations. These are speed of onset, time horizon, spatial considerations, affected population needs, perceived probability of occurrence and perceived magnitude of consequence. These combinational and independent relationships of the variables offer insight into key HRSC design-making considerations.Research limitations/implicationsThe study improves conceptual knowledge of disasters, distilling the concept to only the dimensions applicable to HRSC design, omitting other applications. The typologies provide empirical cell types based on extant literature, but do not apply the models towards new or future phenomena.Practical implicationsThis paper provides HRSC practitioners with normative guidance through a more targeted approach to disaster relief, with a focus on the impacted system and resulting interactions’ correspondence to HRSC design.Originality/valueThis paper provides three typological models of disasters uniquely constructed for HRSC design across the various stages of disaster relief.
A study of the self-perceived competencies regarding the knowledge and skills of healthcare providers in the Expanded Program on Immunization in Thailand
Authors: Rutchanagul Pregamol , Sangnimitchaikul Wipada 
Published: April 2019

PurposeThe Expanded Program on Immunization (EPI) has still been found to offer services that do not comply with standards. The purpose of this paper is to ascertain competency in terms of the knowledge and skills of the EPI staff.Design/methodology/approachThe research design was a mixed-methods approach. The quantitative method employed a questionnaire survey on the perceived competency of 382 EPI staffs from six regions in Thailand. This was paired alongside of the qualitative method, where four staffs were in-depth interviewed, and the performance of the EPI staffs was observed.FindingsThe overall perceived competency in the work of immunization was at a high level. A comparative analysis between the quantitative and qualitative data showed findings in three categories. First, the perception of competency was high, and performance conformed to standards in the preparation of the setting and equipment for providing the service; second, the perception of competency was high, but in the performance of their work the participants did not comply completely with standards for scheduling the immunization appointments or for vaccine storage; and third, the perception of competency was either moderate or low, and the performance of work was inadequate for vaccine estimations, registering reports, and dealing with adverse events following immunization.Originality/valueThe findings showed a gap between perception of knowledge-and-skill competency and actual practice in EPI service. Effective cooperation among involved organizations in order to improve the standard of performance in expanding the quality of EPI service provision in Thailand is suggested.
Managing informal service organizations at the base of the pyramid (BoP)
Authors: Reynoso Javier , Cabrera Karla 
Published: April 2019

PurposeThis paper aims to explore and learn about managerial practices of informal services at the base of the pyramid (BoP).Design/methodology/approachThe study reports findings of an empirical research conducted in 16 cities in Mexico during a two-year period. Managerial practices in 327 micro-businesses were identified and analyzed after conducting direct observation and personal interviews with owners, employees and customers of these BoP informal service businesses.FindingsThe paper shows that managerial practices of BoP informal service micro-businesses are developed through a dynamic, integrated network of owner, employees and customers who integrate scarce resources building win-win-win relationships to satisfy their basic daily needs.Practical implicationsThe creation and management of a BoP informal service business is mainly a matter of satisfying basic needs, aiming to positively transform a community by improving well-being. This paper provides insights to understand those relationships and interactions among the main actors involved, highlighting the need to identify and integrate the BoP service management cycle to better address their needs.Originality/valueThis paper proposes a conceptual service management framework for informal micro-businesses at the BoP integrating the owners, employees and customers’ perspectives. Three corresponding cycles are identified and discussed, which are useful to elicit relevant characteristics of key roles, activities, interactions and relationships taking place in informal services.
Beyond green façades: active air-cooling vertical gardens
Authors: Davis Michael Maks , Vallejo Espinosa Andrea Lorena , Ramirez Francisco Rene 
Published: April 2019

Purpose
Vertical gardens offer multiple benefits in urban environments, including passive cooling services. Previous research explored the use of “active vertical gardens” as potential evaporative air-cooling units by developing a mathematical model based on the FAO-56 Penman Monteith equation. Further research showed that active vertical gardens function best by creating an airflow in the cavity behind the garden such that air is cooled by flowing over the water-saturated garden substrate. The purpose of this paper is to improve the quantification of active vertical garden performance.

Design/methodology/approach
A building-incorporated vertical garden was built in Quito, Ecuador, with an air inlet at the top of the garden, an air cavity behind the garden and where air was expelled from the base. Measurements were made of air temperature, humidity and velocity at the air inlet and outlet.

Findings
The active vertical garden cooled the air by an average of 8.1 °C with an average cooling capacity of 682.8 W. Including the effects of pre-cooling at the garden inlet, the garden cooled the air by an average of 14.3 °C with an average cooling capacity of 1,203.2 W.

Originality/value
The results are promising and support the potential for active vertical gardens to be incorporated into building services and climate control.
A novel non-isolated positive output voltage buck-boost converter
Authors: Mohapatra Tapas Kumar , Dey Asim Kumar , Mohapatra Krushna Keshab , Sahu Binod 
Published: April 2019

Purpose
A two switches non-isolated DC-DC novel buck-boost converter for charging the battery of electric vehicle is projected in this paper. The performance of the converter is compared with conventional buck-boost and transformer-less P/O buck-boost converter by Shan and Faqiang. The detail operation and performance analysis of the proposed converter is described both in continuous conduction mode and discontinuous conduction mode. A state space model and simulation model is designed in MATLAB. The PID controller parameters are tuned using Single-objective Salp swarm optimization algorithm using MATLAB. The controller is implemented using DSP board. The hardware and simulation results are projected in the paper to validate the effectiveness of the proposed buck-boost converter. A comparison analysis is projected among conventional converter and Shan & Faqiang converter.

Design/methodology/approach
The converter state space model is designed and simulation model is also developed in MATALAB. The controller is implemented using DSP board. The parameters are obtained using optimization technique using SSA algorithm. The hardware design is also implemented, and the result is compared with the Shan and Faqiang converter. The efficiency of the converter is also tested.

Findings
The converter is providing a higher efficiency. The inductor current is also positive in both buck and boost mode. The robustness of the controller is better for a wide range of variation of input voltage because the output voltage remains almost constant. Therefore, this is very suitable for battery charging and PV module application.

Practical implications
For battery charging from PV module where voltage fluctuation is frequent.

Social implications
The authors can use household applications to charge the battery using PV module.

Originality/value
The converter design concept is new. Optimization is used to find the parameters of the controllers and is implemented in hardware design. The parameters obtained provide robustness in the converter performance.
How sexual and natural selection shape sexual size dimorphism: Evidence from multiple evolutionary scales
Authors: Littleford‐Colquhoun Bethan L. , Clemente Christofer , Thompson Graham , Cristescu Romane H. , Peterson Nicola , Strickland Kasha , Stuart‐Fox Devi , Frere Celine H. 
Published: April 2019

Abstract

Sexual size dimorphism (SSD) is pervasive across taxa and reflects differences in the effects of sexual and natural selection on body size between the sexes. However, disentangling the complex eco‐evolutionary interactions between these two mechanisms remains a major challenge for biologists.

Here, we combine macro‐evolutionary (between‐species), local evolutionary (between‐population) and fine‐scale evolutionary (within‐population) patterns of SSD to explore how sexual and natural selection interact and shape the evolution of SSD in Australian agamid lizards. Australian agamid lizards show substantial variation in SSD, ecological traits and species density making them an ideal study system to address this question.

At the between‐species level, population density, ecological generalism and mean species size significantly predict SSD variation; however, only ecological generalism was found to significantly explain variation in larger‐than‐average male‐biased SSD. At the population level, density positively correlated with SSD in native habitats, but not city park habitats. Last, agonistic behaviour acted as the primary driver of SSD at the within‐population level.

Our results indicate how sexual and natural selection can interact at different evolutionary scales, and show the importance of considering both selective mechanisms when investigating patterns of SSD.

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Rearing background and exposure environment together explain higher survival of aquaculture fish during a bacterial outbreak
Authors: Räihä Ville , Sundberg Lotta‐Riina , Ashrafi Roghaieh , Hyvärinen Pekka , Karvonen Anssi 
Published: April 2019

Abstract

Parasitic diseases represent one of the greatest challenges for aquaculture worldwide and there is an increasing emphasis on ecological solutions to prevent infections. One proposed solution is enriched rearing, where traditional stimulus‐poor rearing tanks are equipped with different types of structures to increase habitat complexity. Such spatial enrichment is known to increase survival of fish during parasite epidemics, but the underlying mechanisms are still unclear.

We studied whether enriched rearing affected infection of an important fish pathogen Flavobacterium columnare in young Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) and sea‐migrating brown trout (Salmo trutta). First, we used natural bacterial exposures and multiple fish populations in a common garden experiment to address the role of host genetic background in effects of enriched rearing. Second, fish from standard and enriched rearing were experimentally exposed to controlled bacterial doses in standard and enriched environments in a full factorial design to explore the relative roles of rearing background and environment of exposure on survival of fish.

Enriched rearing significantly increased survival of fish during the natural bacterial outbreak. This effect was also fairly consistent and observed in eight of the ten fish populations. In the controlled exposure, fish exposed in enriched environment had higher survival regardless of their rearing background, suggesting a stronger impact of the environment on the disease progression. Additionally, the survival in the enriched environment was the highest among the fish of enriched rearing background, supporting the idea of their higher resistance.

Synthesis and applications. Our study suggests that the enhanced survival of fish in enriched rearing is a result of a combined effect of the environment and improved fish condition and, to a lesser degree, from host genetic background. This has important implications for when and how environmental enrichment should be applied. Overall, these results indicate that environmental enrichment has the potential to improve survival of fish during parasitic epidemics and thus reduce use of antibiotics in aquaculture.
Loss of spatial structure after temporary herbivore absence in a high‐productivity reed marsh
Authors: Reijers Valérie C. , Cruijsen Peter M. J. M. , Hoetjes Sean C. S. , van den Akker Marloes , Heusinkveld Jannes H. T. , van de Koppel Johan , Lamers Leon P. M. , Olff Han , van der Heide Tjisse 
Published: April 2019

Abstract

Grazing can significantly impact spatial heterogeneity and conservation value of ecosystems. Earlier work revealed that overgrazing may stimulate persistent vegetation collapse in low‐productivity environments where vegetation survives by concentrating scarce resources within its local environment. However, it remains unclear whether grazer fluctuations may cause persistent vegetation changes in high‐productivity systems where dense stands facilitate their own survival by hampering grazer access.

Here, we experimentally tested how the release from grazing by greylag geese (Anser anser) affects spatial vegetation structure in a highly productive, brackish marsh in which dense reed (Phragmites australis) stands and bare roosting areas coexist. Next, we assessed the resilience of the change in vegetation patterning by reintroducing the geese after a 2‐year exclosure period.

During herbivore exclusion, vegetation rapidly colonized the bare areas, while reintroduction of herbivores generated a clear species‐specific response. Specifically, the pioneer species, Bolboschoenus maritimus, was immediately eradicated, while the dense and high structure of P. australis facilitated its own persistence by limiting grazer access. Surface accretion (~1 cm/year) during herbivore exclusion further amplified this herbivore‐inhibiting feedback, because greylag geese primarily rely on waterlogged conditions for grubbing.

Synthesis and applications. Our results indicate that temporary reductions in herbivore numbers may induce persistent unfavourable changes in the spatial structure of a high‐productivity system. It is therefore important to first assess whether vegetation changes are naturally reversible or persistent. If state shifts are indeed persistent, sufficiently high grazer densities must be maintained to warrant the favourable heterogeneous system. If changes in vegetation structure negatively impact grazer densities, active management such as sod cutting or mowing may be required to restore ecosystem structure and functions.
Repetitive desiccation events weaken a salt marsh mutualism
Authors: Derksen‐Hooijberg Marlous , Angelini Christine , Hoogveld Jasper R. H. , Lamers Leon P. M. , Borst Annieke , Smolders Alfons , Harpenslager Sarah Fay , Govers Laura L. , van der Heide Tjisse 
Published: April 2019

AbstractSalt marshes suffered large‐scale degradation in recent decades. Extreme events such as hot and dry spells contributed significantly to this, and are predicted to increase not only in intensity, but also in frequency under future climate scenarios. Such repetitive extreme events may generate cumulative effects on ecosystem resilience. It is therefore important to elucidate how marsh vegetation responds to repetitive stress, and whether changes in key species interactions can modulate vegetation resilience.In this study, we investigated how moderate but repetitive desiccation events, caused by the combined effects of drought and high temperatures, affect cordgrass (Spartina alterniflora), the dominant habitat‐forming grass in southeasternUSsalt marshes. In a 4‐month field experiment, we simulated four consecutive desiccation events by periodically excluding tidal flooding and rainfall, while raising temperature. We crossed this desiccation treatment with the presence/absence of ribbed mussels (Geukensia demissa) – a mutualist of cordgrass known to enhance its desiccation resilience – and with grazing pressure by the marsh periwinkle (Littoraria irrorata) that is known to suppress cordgrass’ desiccation resilience.We found that each subsequent desiccation event deteriorated sediment porewater conditions, resulting in high salinity (53 ppt), low pH‐levels (3.7) and increased porewater Al and Fe concentrations (≈800 μmol/L and ≈1,500 μmol/L) upon rewetting. No effects on porewater chemistry were found as a result of snail grazing, while ribbed mussels strongly mitigated desiccation effects almost to control levels and increased cordgrass biomass by approximately 128%. Importantly, although cordgrass generally appeared healthy above‐ground at the end of the experiment, we found clear negative responses of the repetitive desiccation treatment on cordgrass below‐ground biomass, on proline (osmolyte) levels in shoots and on the number of tillers (−40%), regardless of mussel and/or snail presence.Synthesis. Even though the mutualism with mussels strongly mitigated chemical effects in the sediment porewater throughout the experiment, mussels could not buffer the adverse ecophysiological effects observed in cordgrass tissue. Our results therefore suggest that although mussels may alleviate desiccation stress, the predicted increased frequency and intensity of hot dry spells may eventually affect saltmarsh resilience by stressing the mutualism beyond its buffering capacity.
KCNQ1OT1, HIF1A‐AS2 and APOA1‐AS are promising novel biomarkers for diagnosis of coronary artery disease
Authors: Zhang Yuan , Zhang Lei , Wang Yu , Ding Han , Xue Sheng , Yu Hua , Hu Longgang , Qi Hongzhao , Wang Yin , Zhu Wenjie , Liu Dacheng , Li Peifeng 
Published: April 2019

AbstractThis study aimed to evaluate the potential of long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) as biomarkers for coronary artery disease (CAD). We measured the levels of three atherosclerosis‐ or cardiac‐related lncRNAs in peripheral blood monocyte cells (PBMCs) from 20 CAD patients and 20 non‐CAD control participants using real‐time reverse transcription–polymerase chain reaction (real‐time RT–PCR) methods. We found that the levels of lncRNA KCNQ1 opposite strand/antisense transcript 1 (KCNQ1OT1), hypoxia‐inducible factor 1 alpha‐antisense RNA 2 (HIF1A‐AS2) and apolipoprotein A‐1 antisense RNA (APOA1‐AS) were significantly increased in CAD patients (KCNQ1OT1 increased by 2.38‐fold, P = 0.00042; HIF1A‐AS2 increased by 2.00‐fold, P = 0.0001; APOA1‐AS increased by 4.52‐fold, P = 0.000048). The area under the ROC curve was 0.865 for KCNQ1OT1, 0.852 for HIF1A‐AS2, and 0.967 for APOA1‐AS. Furthermore, the combination of lncRNAs resulted in a much higher AUC value of 0.990 for the prediction of CAD. Spearman's correlation analysis showed that APOA1‐AS was positively correlated with NT‐proBNP, CKMB, MYO and HsTnT, whereas HIF1A‐AS2 was correlated with NT‐proBNP and HsTnT. Hence, the elevation of KCNQ1OT1, HIF1A‐AS2 and APOA1‐AS predicts CAD and these molecules may be considered as novel biomarkers of CAD.
Australian sugarcane soldier fly's salivary gland transcriptome in response to starvation and feeding on sugarcane crops
Authors: Etebari Kayvan , Lindsay Karel R. , Ward Andrew L. , Furlong Michael J. 
Published: April 2019

AbstractThe soldier fly is an endemic pest of sugarcane in Australia. Small numbers of larvae can cause significant damage to roots and reduce the crop yields. Little is known about the composition and function of the soldier fly salivary gland, its secretions, and their roles in insect‒plant interactions. In this study, we performed transcriptome analysis of the salivary glands of starved and sugarcane root‐fed soldier fly larvae. A total of 31 119 highly expressed assembled contigs were identified in the salivary glands and almost 50% of them showed high levels of similarity to known proteins in Nr databases. Of all the obtained contigs, only 9727 sequences contain an open reading frame of over 100 amino acids. Around 31% of contigs were predicted to encode secretory proteins, including some digestive and detoxifying enzymes and potential effectors. Some known salivary secreted peptides such as serine protease, cysteine proteinase inhibitors, antimicrobial peptides and venom proteins were among the top 100 highly expressed genes. Differential gene expression analysis revealed significant modulation of 850 transcripts in salivary glands upon exposure to plant roots or starvation stress. Here, we identified some venom proteins which were significantly upregulated in the salivary glands of soldier fly larvae exposed to sugarcane roots. In other insects and nematodes some of these proteins have been used to manipulate host plant defense systems and facilitate the invasion of the host plant. These findings provide a further insight into the identification of potential effector proteins involved in soldier fly‒sugarcane interactions.
Extraction of Bioactive Compounds from Pseuderanthemum palatiferum (Nees) Radlk. Using Subcritical Water and Conventional Solvents: A Comparison Study
Authors: Ho Truc Cong , Chun Byung‐Soo 
Published: April 2019

AbstractThe present study investigated the recovery of antioxidative compounds obtained from Pseuderanthemum palatiferum (Nees) Radlk. and their biological activities using subcritical water in comparison with hot water, Soxhlet, and methanol extraction. In this study, high‐performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and three commonly used assays, that is, 2,2‐diphenyl‐1‐picrylhydrazyl assays, 2,2′‐azino‐bis(3‐ethylbenzothiazoline‐6‐sulfonic acid), and ferric reducing antioxidant power, were employed to measure the number of valuable compounds and their antioxidant capacities, respectively. Additionally, the antimicrobial ability of the various extracts against seven pathogenic bacteria strains was assessed. The results demonstrated that the extracts obtained from subcritical water extraction (SWE) contain the highest amount of saponin (33.82 ± 2.08 mg diosgenin/g), phenolic (34.87 ± 0.29 mg CE/g), and protein (104.66 ± 7.63 mg BSA/g), which are obtained at 170 °C, 190 °C, and 230 °C, respectively. The highest amounts of total sugar and flavonoids (211.73 ± 1.58 mg glucose/g and 20.71 ± 0.42 mg RE/g, respectively) were obtained at lower temperature (130 °C and 130 °C, respectively), and these values were higher than those obtained from hot water, Soxhlet, and methanol extraction. HPLC analysis indicated that the highest amount of apigenin (3.46 ± 0.03 mg/g) and kaempferol (2.43 ± 0.03 mg/g) were obtained by SWE at 170 °C and 190 °C, respectively. Furthermore, the extracts from SWE exhibited higher antimicrobial activity against five of the seven pathogenic bacterial strains tested compared with those obtained from conventional extraction methods. Therefore, subcritical water could be utilized as a cost‐effective and green solvent to extract valuable compounds from P. palatiferum (Nees) Radlk. leaf.Practical ApplicationSubcritical water was able to recover more bioactive compounds from the sample, such as phenolics, flavonoids, saponin, protein, and polysaccharides, than conventional solvents. The mixture of polyphenolic–polysaccharide–protein conjugates could be used in further steps, isolation, and purification, and applied to functional food.