bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Quality improvement through ergonomics intervention at chemical plant
Authors: Hadidi Laith A. , Kolus Ahmet , AlKhamis Mohammed 
Published: February 2019

Purpose
This paper aims to focus on ergonomics intervention and quality implementation at a chemical manufacturing plant in Saudi Arabia that is prone to increased number of quality defects and shutdowns.

Design/methodology/approach
The paper applies the quality improvement through ergonomics (QUITE) methodology as a solution to improve the level of plants quality and reliability. The QUITE implementation relies on a great amount of human participation and constant check of quality results. The study is conducted to solve two main problems in the plant under study, namely, degradation in the products quality and unsolved frequent shutdowns in the production line

Findings
The study findings suggested to automate the inspection process through “User Alert” system to stimulate the operator attention who triggers a corrective action to avoid any possible process upset of plant shutdown. The implementation increased productivity from 280 to 310 ton; quality conformance from 91.7 to 96.80 per cent; and reduced shutdown from 1.26 days to almost zero downtime.

Originality/value
The work shed the light on the effect of ergonomics on the quality of finished products. Usually, ergonomics is related to the work environment. However, ergonomics initiatives can spearhead improvement in production quality.
Social media promotions and travelers’ value-creating behaviors: the role of perceived support
Authors: Casaló Luis V. , Romero Jaime 
Published: February 2019

PurposeEncouraging travelers to create value that benefits firms is of great relevance for companies that operate in online contexts. The purpose of this study is to investigate, focusing on online travel agencies, how monetary promotions (i.e. economic incentives) and non-monetary promotions (i.e. draws and contests) conducted through social media enhance customers’ voluntary behaviors (i.e. suggestions, word of mouth, and social media interactions) that go beyond brand choice, which may provide benefit to firms.Design/methodology/approachThe research model draws on the social exchange theory, equity theory and the concept of perceived support – how customers perceive that companies care about their well-being. The authors collect information from 491 users of online travel agencies in Spain and test their hypotheses using partial least squares. They also evaluate the existence of indirect effects.FindingsPromotions developed by companies make customers more likely to perform, voluntarily, the helping behaviors of suggestions, word of mouth and social media interactions, through the influence of perceived support.Research limitations/implicationsUse of a single survey to collect measures and restriction of the sample to Spanish-speaking travelers suggests caution in generalizing the results. Future research could investigate other company-initiated actions and other value-creating behaviors of travelers.Practical implicationsPromotions help develop perceived support for customers, which leads to voluntary, valuable traveler behaviors. Promotions may be also sufficient to trigger some customer behaviors, such as word-of-mouth.Originality/valueBased on the social exchange and equity theories, this paper investigates the influence of social media promotions on customers’ voluntary behaviors via perceived support.
Oil refining and delivery in the Western European region
Authors: Klepikov Vladimir Pavlovich , Klepikov Vladimir Vladimirovich 
Published: February 2019

Purpose
This paper aims to analyse the key trends in oil delivery and production and evaluate the capacities of crude oil transportation systems in the Western European region.

Design/methodology/approach
To meet these goals, qualitative data analysis was used to assess the contribution of countries in the region to the total crude oil production and delivery, the changes in concentration of crude oil deliveries and refineries’ capacities, the capabilities of the regional crude oil transportation system and the trends in crude oil supplies and processing from 2005 to 2015.

Findings
The study established that from 2013 to 2015 oil supply to the region’s refineries increased and generated additional stress on the transportation and refining infrastructure.

Research limitations/implications
This study examined the aggregate values of crude oil production, crude oil deliveries and refining capacities. In practice, different refineries are set to process certain types of crude oil. It is possible to use the described approach with a certain crude oil grade.

Practical implications
When developing the programmes for crude oil supply to refineries, it is vital to take into account the capacities of refineries and the capabilities of the crude oil transportation systems.

Originality/value
The study suggests that the region’s infrastructure has the necessary reserves to operate for the next few years without additional investments.
A comparison of the impact of the Basel standards upon Islamic and conventional bank risks in the Gulf state region
Authors: Farooqi Muhammad Fuad , O’Brien John 
Published: February 2019

Purpose
This paper aims to provide a comparative study of the Islamic versus conventional banking sector risk by using market data generated from the sample of publicly listed Islamic and conventional banks in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) region.

Design/methodology/approach
The authors introduce a market-based measure of bank stress and test this indicator against the Tier 1 Capital Ratio using Granger causality tests.

Findings
The authors find that the market-based measure is a leading indicator of banking stress when compared to the accounting-based Tier 1 ratio and thus is relevant to the Basel regulation’s Pillar 3.

Research limitations/implications
This paper only looks at Islamic vs conventional banks in the Gulf region, and the authors would like to extend this analysis to a broader range of financial institutions, especially in the European and North American markets.

Social implications
Developing a measure that signals bank stress ahead of typically used measures can help regulators, bank management and investors identify oncoming problems and issues before these become too big to manage.

Originality/value
The results from this analysis provides insight into the offsetting impact from two drivers (beta and book-to-market ratio) of the cost of equity capital for the conventional vs Islamic banking sectors.
A touch of gloss: haptic perception of packaging and consumers’ reactions
Authors: Briand Decré Gwenaëlle , Cloonan Caroline 
Published: February 2019

PurposeThis paper aims to study the cross-modal correspondence between a visual stimulus (i.e. glossiness), haptic perception and consumers’ reactions (internal responses and behavioral intentions).Design/methodology/approachUsing an experimental design, three experimental studies have been conducted to test the effect of a glossy (versus matte) packaging upon the perception of haptic features of a packaging (roughness, thickness and lightness), internal reactions (perceived product quality and product attractiveness) and behavioral intentions (purchase intention and willingness to pay).FindingsThis paper evidences the significant impact that glossiness bears on the haptic perception of a packaging material as well as upon internal reactions and behavioral intentions. A new conceptual framework combining the SOR model and the cross-modal correspondences is validated.Research limitations/implicationsThe results encourage further research to explore the wide range of potential cross-modal correspondences between visual stimuli and haptic perception.Practical implicationsThe results highlight the critical influence of visual cues for managers, especially for online shopping or advertising. Even if consumers cannot touch the product, it is possible to induce haptic perception through visual cues and to influence the internal reactions and behavioral intentions.Originality/valueThis research demonstrates that the packaging texture and weight can be visually induced through glossiness.
Terbinafine‐resistant strain of Trichophyton interdigitale strain isolated from a tinea pedis patient
Authors: Hiruma Junichiro , Kitagawa Hiroyuki , Noguchi Hiromitsu , Kano Rui , Hiruma Masataro , Kamata Hiroshi , Harada Kazutoshi 
Published: February 2019

AbstractTrichophyton interdigitale is an anthropophilic species that is frequently isolated from tinea unguium and tinea pedis throughout the world. In the present study, antifungal susceptibility testing was performed on T. interdigitale isolates from Japanese patients (isolated in 2017–2018; 24 strains) to assess itraconazole (ITZ) and terbinafine (TRF) susceptibility of these strains. E‐test determinations revealed that the mean ITZ minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of the 24 strains was 0.023 mg/L (range, 0.064–1). Clinical Laboratory Standards Institute M38‐A2 determinations revealed that the mean TRF MIC of 23 of the 24 strains was less than 0.03125 mg/L. Among these strains, one (NUBS18016) had a TRF MIC of 2 mg/L, confirming its resistance to TRF. The predicted amino acid sequences of the squalene epoxidase (SQLE) gene from the TRF‐resistant strain (NUBS18016) was 100% identical to the SQLE gene sequence of the reference strain T. interdigitale, indicating that no gene mutations were present in NUBS18016. Therefore, the TRF‐resistance mechanism of our TRF‐resistant strain NUBS18016 has not been defined. Dermatologists should be cautious about the prevalence of foot dermatophytosis due to antifungal drug‐resistant strains.
House Prices and Systematic Risk: Evidence from Microdata
Authors: Peng Liang , Zhang Lei 
Published: February 2019

AbstractThis article empirically tests whether individual houses’ systematic risk, which is measured with their stock market betas, varies with their prices. An analysis of about 6 million repeat sales in the U.S. over the 2000–2015 period suggests that pricier houses tend to have lower stock market betas. This result is robust across time, holding‐period duration and MSAs with different population and GDP growth rates, and remains significant when the model includes more stock market factors.
Are B cells altered in the decidua of women with preterm or term labor?
Authors: Leng Yaozhu , Romero Roberto , Xu Yi , Galaz Jose , Slutsky Rebecca , Arenas‐Hernandez Marcia , Garcia‐Flores Valeria , Motomura Kenichiro , Hassan Sonia S. , Reboldi Andrea , Gomez‐Lopez Nardhy 
Published: February 2019

ProblemThe immunophenotype of B cells at the maternal‐fetal interface (decidua) in labor at term and preterm labor is poorly understood.Method of studyDecidual tissues were obtained from women with preterm or term labor and from non‐labor gestational age‐matched controls. Immunophenotyping of decidual B cells was performed using multicolor flow cytometry.Results(a) In the absence of acute or chronic chorioamnionitis, total B cells were more abundant in the decidua parietalis of women who delivered preterm than in those who delivered at term, regardless of the presence of labor; (b) decidual transitional and naïve B cells were the most abundant B‐cell subsets; (c) decidual B1 B cells were increased in women with either labor at term or preterm labor and chronic chorioamnionitis compared to those without this placental lesion; (d) decidual transitional B cells were reduced in women with preterm labor compared to those without labor; (e) naïve, class‐switched, and non–class‐switched B cells in the decidual tissues underwent mild alterations with the process of preterm labor; (f) decidual plasmablasts seemed to increase in women with either labor at term or preterm labor with chronic chorioamnionitis; and (g) decidual B cells expressed high levels of interleukin (IL)‐12, IL‐6, and/or IL‐35.ConclusionTotal B cells are not increased with the presence of preterm or term labor; yet, specific subsets (B1 and plasmablasts) undergo alterations in women with chronic chorioamnionitis. Therefore, B cells are solely implicated in the pathological process of preterm labor in a subset of women with chronic inflammation of the placenta. These findings provide insight into the immunology of the maternal‐fetal interface in preterm and term labor.
Corporate Environmental Responsibilities and Executive Compensation: A Risk Management Perspective
Authors: Hao Jongyu Paula , Kang Fei 
Published: February 2019

AbstractIn this article, we examine how firms design executive compensation in light of their risk environment. Prior literature shows that corporate environmental responsibility (CER) of a firm inversely affects firm risk. We argue that firms with better CER performance benefit from the reduced firm risk, and therefore are more likely to provide greater managerial risk‐taking incentives to encourage the risk‐averse managers to undertake risk‐increasing but positive net present value (NPV) investments. Consistent with our hypotheses, we find that a firm’s CER rating is positively associated with its CEO risk‐taking incentives (vega) in the following year. We also document cross‐sectional variations in the CER‐vega relationship, that is, a weaker association in the controversial industries. This study contributes to the literature by investigating the role of CER on executive compensation design from the perspective of risk management.
Clinical and radiographic peri‐implant health status around narrow diameter implant‐supported single and splinted crowns
Authors: Al‐Aali Khulud Abdulrahman , ArRejaie Aws S. , Alrahlah Ali , AlFawaz Yasser F. , Abduljabbar Tariq , Vohra Fahim 
Published: February 2019

AbstractBackgroundStudies assessing and comparing clinical and radiographic peri‐implant status around narrow diameter implant‐supported single crowns (NDISCs) and splinted crowns (NDISPs) are scarce.ObjectiveThe aim of this retrospective study was to estimate and compare complication rates, patient satisfaction, peri‐implant status and peri‐implant bone loss (PBL) of NDISCs and NDISPs.Materials and MethodsPatients receiving narrow diameter implants (NDIs) in the posterior mandible were assessed. Technical complication and patient satisfaction were recorded. Clinical peri‐implant plaque index (PI), bleeding on probing (BoP), probing depth (PD) and PBL were assessed. Technical complications and patient satisfaction were recorded. Log‐rank test was computed to evaluate the influence of prostheses type and NDIs location on technical complications. P‐value less than 0.05 was regarded as significant.ResultsSeventy‐eight patients (43 male and 35 females) agreed to follow up. The mean follow‐up duration of the patients was 3.6 years. A total of 102 (43 NDISCs and 59 NDISPs) NDIs with moderately rough surfaces were included. No significant differences in PI, BoP, or PD were observed between NDISCs and NDISPs. The average PBL score was 1.17 (range: 0.03‐4.15) at implant level and 1.14 (range: 0.03‐4.14) at patient level. Seven implants and three patients showed peri‐implantitis. The rates of technical complication of single crowns were significantly higher than those of splinted crowns (P = 0.036). PBL was significantly higher in molar sites than those in premolar sites (P = 0.041). A total of 67 patients (85.9%) were satisfied with the esthetics of the crowns, while a total of 59 patients (75.6%) were satisfied with the function of the crowns.ConclusionNDISCs and NDISPs offer high patient satisfaction and tolerable complication rates. Peri‐implant conditions and peri‐implant bone levels were comparable around NDISCs and NDISPs. However, bone loss of implants was higher in molar sites than those implants in premolar sites.
Value of the cough maneuver for detecting right‐to‐left shunt during contrast transthoracic echocardiography
Authors: Wang Ping , Chen Sha‐Sha , Li Ying , Zhang Xiao‐Yong 
Published: February 2019

AimTo explore the value of cough maneuver (CM) in detecting right‐to‐left (RLS) during contrast transthoracic echocardiography (cTTE) and its mechanism.MethodWe enrolled 196 patients with a high level of clinical suspicion of RLS underwent cTTE for RLS detection. Valsalva maneuver (VM) (blowing into a face mask connected to a sphygmomanometer at 40 mm Hg for 10 seconds) and CM were performed to provoke RLS, respectively. A comparison of the two provocative maneuvers in terms of the RLS‐detection rate, the degree of RLS, the mobility of septum primum was done.ResultsThe detection rates of RLS for CM were significantly higher than that for VM (38.3% vs 32.1%), (P < 0.001). There was no significant difference between VM and CM in terms of detecting moderate‐ or severe‐extent RLS (P > 0.05), however, CM was significantly better than VM in detecting mild‐extent RLS (P = 0.004). CM caused a greater mobility of septum primum than VM (20.1 ± 0.2 mm vs 6.3 ± 0.1 mm), (P < 0.001).ConclusionCough maneuver had a higher detection rate for RLS than VM during cTTE, maybe due to its greater mobility of septum primum than VM caused.
Effect of the mating plug on female chemical attractiveness and mating acceptance in a scorpion
Authors: Romero-Lebrón Eugenia , Oviedo‐Diego Mariela A. , Elias David , Vrech David E. , Peretti Alfredo V. 
Published: February 2019

AbstractAfter mating, females may experience a decline in sexual receptivity and attractiveness that may be associated with changes in the production and emission of sex pheromones. In some cases, these changes are produced by chemical substances or structures (e.g., mating plugs) produced by males as a strategy to avoid or reduce sperm competition. In scorpions, sex pheromones may be involved in finding potential mates and starting courtship. Here, we tested the hypothesis that the males ofUrophonius brachycentrus, a species that produces a mating plug, use chemical communication (sex pheromones) to detect, localize, and discriminate females according to their mating status (virgin or inseminated), aided by chemical signaling. We also explored the effect of extracting of the mating plug on chemical communication and mating acceptance. We used Y‐maze olfactometers with different stimuli to analyze male choice and exploration time. To evaluate mating acceptance, we measured the attractiveness and receptivity of females of different mating status. We found that chemical communication occurs through volatile pheromones, but not contact pheromones. Males equally preferred sites with virgin or inseminated females with removed mating plug. In turn, females with these mating statuses were more attractive and receptive for males than inseminated females. This study suggests that the mating plug significantly affects female chemical attractiveness with an effect on volatile pheromones and decreasing sexual mating acceptance of females. The decline in the female's sexual receptivity is a complex process that may respond to several non‐exclusive mechanisms imposed by males and strategically modulated by females.
The impact of water pH on association preferences in fish
Authors: Kleinhappel Tanja K. , Burman Oliver H. P. , John Elizabeth A. , Wilkinson Anna , Pike Thomas W. 
Published: February 2019

AbstractAcidification of lakes and rivers, as a consequence of anthropogenic interference, can cause fundamental changes to biological and ecological processes. One of the main consequences of a reduction in water pH for aquatic organisms is the disruption of their chemosensory abilities, as the detection of chemical cues underpins a wide range of decision‐making processes; for example, a reduction to low pH has been shown to interfere with predator avoidance and the detection of foraging cues. Moreover, aquatic organisms are known to make widespread use of chemical information to inform their social behaviour, although we have a comparably poor understanding of how this is impacted by water acidification, especially their shoaling behaviour. Using a standard behavioural assay, we therefore investigated the impact of low water pH on the social interactions mediated by diet‐derived chemical cues in three‐spined sticklebacks (Gasterosteus aculeatus), by quantifying social behaviour in water that varied either experimentally or naturally in pH. In both cases, we predicted that association patterns would be disrupted by low pH conditions, as reduced pH has shown to interfere with the perception of chemical cues in other non‐social contexts. Consistent with this prediction, our results demonstrate that an acute, short‐term reduction in water pH caused a breakdown in the diet‐mediated social interaction patterns seen in more alkaline water, although, interestingly, the pattern of associations for fish tested in naturally acidic water was both more complex and in a direction that was precisely contrary to our predictions. Overall, the findings provide insights into the potential effects of an acute reduction in water pH on fish communication and social interaction patterns, which may have implication for various individual, group, population and community‐level processes.
Rapid evolution and behavioral plasticity following introduction to an environment with reduced predation risk
Authors: Westrick Sarah E. , Broder E. Dale , Reznick David N. , Ghalambor Cameron K. , Angeloni Lisa 
Published: February 2019

AbstractAdaptive behavioral plasticity can play a beneficial role when a population becomes established in a novel environment if environmental cues allow the expression of appropriate behavior. Further, plasticity itself can evolve over time in a new environment causing changes in the way or degree to which animals respond to environmental cues. Colonization events provide an opportunity to investigate such relationships between behavioral plasticity and adaptation to new environments. Here, we investigated the evolution of behavior and behavioral plasticity during colonization of a new environment, by testing if female mate‐choice behavior diverged in Trinidadian guppies 2–3 years (~6–9 generations) after being introduced to four locations with reduced predation risk. We collected wild‐caught fish from the source and introduced populations, and we reared out second‐generation females in the laboratory with and without predator cues to examine their plastic responses to a bright and dull male. We found introduced females were less responsive to males when reared without predator cues, but both introduced and source females were similarly responsive when reared with predator cues. Thus, the parallel evolution of behavior across multiple populations in the low‐predation environment was only observed in the treatment mimicking the introduction environment. Such results are consistent with theory predicting that the evolution of plasticity is a by‐product of differential selection across environments.