bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Safety assessment of a novel C-type natriuretic peptide derivative and the mechanism of bone- and cartilage-specific toxicity
Authors: Yotsumoto Takafumi , Morozumi Naomi , Nakamura Ryuichi , Jindo Toshimasa , Furuya Mayumi , Abe Yasuyuki , Nishimura Tomonari , Maeda Hiroaki , Ogasawara Hiroyuki , Minamitake Yoshiharu , Kangawa Kenji 
Published: May 2019

AbstractASB20123, a C-type natriuretic peptide/ghrelin chimeric peptide, was designed as a novel peptide and demonstrated full agonistic activity for natriuretic-peptide receptor B and a significantly longer half-life in plasma compared with the native peptide. We researched the toxicological profile of ASB20123, the correlation between the morphological change of the epiphyseal plate and bone and cartilage toxicity, and biomarkers to detect the toxicity. ASB20123 was systemically administered to male and female rats at daily dose levels of 0.5, 1.5, and 5.0 mg/kg/day for 4 weeks. In this study, toxicity was observed as changes related to bone and cartilage tissues, and no other toxicological changes were observed in all animals. Next, ASB20123 was administered to 12-month-old rats with a little epiphyseal plate. The toxic changes related to bone and cartilage tissues were not observed in any animal with a closed epiphyseal plate, indicating that the toxic changes were triggered by the growth-accelerating effect on the bone and cartilage. Furthermore, we searched for the biomarker related to the bone and cartilage toxicity using rats treated with ASB20123 at doses of 0.005, 0.05, 0.5, and 5.0 mg/kg/day for 4 weeks. A close correlation between necrosis/fibrosis in the epiphysis and metaphysis and thickness of the epiphyseal plate in the femur was confirmed in this study. A decrease in the bone mineral density (BMD) of the femur also was associated with the appearance of bone toxicity. These results indicated that the toxicity of ASB20123 was limited to bone- and cartilage-specific changes, and these changes were triggered by an excessive growth accelerating effect. Furthermore, our data suggested that the thickness of the epiphyseal plate and BMD could be reliable biomarkers to predict bone toxicity.
The subtle balance of insulin and thyroxine on survival and development of primordial follicles culturedin vitroenclosed in ovarian tissue
Authors: Paes Victor M. , Lima Laritza F. , Ferreira Anna-Clara A. , Lobo Carlos H. , Alves Benner G. , Rodrigues Ana-Paula R. , Oliveira Ariclecio C. , Figueiredo Jose R. , Feugang Jean M. 
Published: May 2019

AbstractThyroid hormones have presented a positive hormonal interaction on follicular development of secondary follicles and oocytes from antral follicles; however, the effect of thyroid hormones on primordial follicles is unclear. Here we investigated thein vitroeffects of combined insulin and thyroxine on caprine primordial follicle survival and development. Ovarian tissues were cultured for 1 or 7 days using 10 ng/ml (low) or 10 µg/ml (high) insulin in the absence or presence of thyroxine at 0.5, 1 or 2 µg/ml. Thereafter, follicular survival and development, gene expression related to apoptosis (Bcl2/Bax), insulin and thyroid receptors, and estradiol and reactive oxygen species production were evaluated. In low-insulin conditions, supplementation with 2 µg/ml thyroxine maintained follicular survival similar to non-cultured control, while 0.5 µg/ml thyroxine enhanced the survival (P<0.05) in comparison to thyroxine-free treatment. Only treatments containing low-insulin and thyroxine at 0.5 or 2 µg/ml increased (P<0.05) reactive oxygen species production from day 1 to day 7. Contrarily to high-insulin containing medium, the presence of thyroxine in low-insulin medium yielded higher stromal cell density (P<0.05). There were higher (P<0.05) estradiol production andBcl2/Baxratio in low-insulin versus high-insulin treatments on day 1 and 7, respectively. High levels of both insulin and thyroxine showed better follicular development (P<0.05), yielding great follicle and oocyte diameter. Finally, the high-insulin level led to insulin and thyroid receptors expression reduction as compared to non-cultured control. In conclusion, the combination of low concentrations of insulin and thyroxine better maintained follicle survival, while high levels ensured better follicular development.
Accounting and professional work in established NPM settings
Authors: Sjögren Ebba , Fernler Karin 
Published: May 2019

PurposeThe paper problematizes previous research on accountingisation, where the role of accounting in determining the scope of professional work is understood in relation to a professional/economic dichotomy and a model of episodic change. The purpose of this paper is to investigate everyday professional work in established new public management (NPM) settings, and proposes a new conceptual framework to analyze the role of accounting therein. The aim is to enable future investigations into how, when and where a situated “bottom line” emerges, by conceptualizing professional work as a process of calculation.Design/methodology/approachQualitative data from case studies of two tertiary level geriatric organizations using observations of 33 employees and four interviews. Data related to patient discharge, and the management of the discharge processes, were analyzed.FindingsFew visible trade-offs between distinctly professional or economic considerations were observed. Rather, the qualification of patients’ status and evaluation of their dischargeability centered on debates over treatment time. Time therefore operated as a situated “bottom line,” to which various other concerns were emergently linked in a process of calculation. Professional practitioners seldom explicitly evoke accounting concepts and technologies, but these were implicated in the ongoing translation of each patient into something temporarily stable, calculable and thus actionable for the professionals involved in their care. The study’s findings have implications for the conceptual understanding of professional work in established NPM settings.Research limitations/implicationsCase study research is context-specific and the role of accounting in professional work will vary due to the professional groups and accounting technologies involved.Practical implicationsThe study’s findings have implications for how to influence professional behavior through interventions in the existing landscape of accounting technologies. The possibility to change behavior through the introduction or removal of individual accounting technologies is questioned.Originality/valueTo date, research on the role of accounting in determining the scope of professional work has assumed a professional/economic dichotomy and studied episodic change linked to accounting-oriented reforms. This paper analyses the role of accounting as an on-going process with emergent boundaries between professional and economic considerations.
Determinants of adoption of International Financial Reporting Standards in Ugandan micro finance institutions
Authors: Bananuka Juma , Tumwebaze Zainabu , Musimenta Doreen , Nuwagaba Patience 
Published: May 2019

Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to report on the results of a study carried out to establish the contribution of board of directors’ effectiveness, intellectual capital (IC) and managerial attitude to the adoption of International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRSs) in microfinance institutions (MFIs).

Design/methodology/approach
This study is cross-sectional and correlational. Data were collected through a questionnaire survey of 67 MFIs that are members of the Association of Microfinance Institutions of Uganda. The data were analyzed using statistical package for social sciences.

Findings
Both board of director’s effectiveness and IC positively and significantly contribute to the adoption of IFRSs. Managerial attitude is positively and significantly associated with the adoption of IFRSs, but its explanatory power is subsumed in IC.

Originality/value
To the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study to investigate the contribution of board of director’s effectiveness, IC and managerial attitude to the adoption of IFRSs in MFIs using evidence from a developing African country like Uganda.
Development and validation of an organisational commitment instrument for generation Y employees in small and medium-sized enterprises in Thailand
Authors: Na-nan Khahan , Saribut Salitta 
Published: May 2019

Purpose
Organisational commitment (OC) has become a hot behavioural topic among researchers, scholars and consulting firms. However, OC instruments have rarely been studied and developed by academics in small and medium-sized Thai enterprises (SMEs). The purpose of this paper is to develop an instrument to measure the OC of Generation Y employees in Thai SMEs.

Design/methodology/approach
A measurement scale for OC was established in three stages. First, 16 questions were developed as a questionnaire based on the concepts and theories of OC, and a survey was conducted for 360 Generation Y employees working in various SMEs. Second, the questions were validated using exploratory factor analysis and, finally, confirmatory factor analysis and convergent validity were tested.

Findings
The OC instrument presented excellent reliability at 0.865. Three factors of the 16 questions as normative commitment, affective commitment and continuance commitment were extracted. These all passed the general rule of thumb for minimum acceptability of a measurement system.

Originality/value
This OC instrument has concrete psychometric measurements and can be applied by researchers, scholars, practitioners and organisations in other settings, especially in the Thai context. Importantly, factor analysis results suggested that the OC questionnaire was suitable for utilisation and application as is, or with minimal modifications, to various business fields and/or settings.
An investigation of stimuli-current thresholds on the non-steady contact condition
Authors: Chen Huiling , Shuai Liguo , Zhu Weihang , Miao Mei 
Published: May 2019

Purpose
This paper aims to investigate the perception threshold (PT) of electrotactile stimulation under non-steady contact condition (NSCC) which is rarely considered in previous reports mainly because of the difficulty with experimental control. Three factors of NSCC are involved, including the current alternating frequency, the tapping interval of stimulation and the stimulating area of skin. The study is aimed at providing the basic PT data for design and application of wearable and portable electrotactile device.

Design/methodology/approach
The up-down method was selected to assess PT, and 72 experimental scenarios were constructed. During the study, we developed an experimental platform with the function of data record and programmable current stimulation. With psychophysical experiment, more than 10,000 data were collected. Furthermore, statics analysis and ANOVA test were opted for exploring the main factor influencing PT.

Findings
NSCC has different PTs on each body location, and PT has a positive correlation with frequency. In general, PT in NSCC is significantly lower than that in SCC. In some cases, it can be lower by more than 60 per cent. In addition, women have a lower PT than men across all age groups, and the younger is generally more sensitive than the older in electro-sensation.

Research limitations/implications
Limited factors of NSCC were considered in this study. Contact time and break interval should be investigated in the future work.

Practical implications
The paper includes implications for the development of smart electrotactile device.

Originality/value
This paper fulfills a challenge in assessing the PT under NSCC.
Matching serious games with museum’s educational roles: smart education in practice
Authors: Wang Meng , Nunes Miguel Baptista 
Published: May 2019

PurposeThis study aims to present a meta-analysis of the use of serious educational games in museums. The analysis is based on a critical literature review that maps educational roles of museums against serious educational games used in support of those roles. The meta-analysis focuses on the specific context of informal learning in museums.Design/methodology/approachThe research design presented in this study is based on a meta-analysis research design that consists of a critical literature review, a multi-matrix representation of findings of the literature review and a conceptual visualization of the multidisciplinary area of the usage of serious games in support of educational roles in museums.FindingsClear and detailed categorizations of educational roles and serious games types for informal learning are presented. These are followed by matching these educational roles with published reports of the use of serious games within museums. The study concludes with observations and a conceptual map of the design of serious games for museums.Originality/valueThis study presents the first meta-analysis of research in this emergent multidisciplinary field. It will help serious game designers, museum educators and educational practitioners to make decisions regarding the choice of game type, customization and content design to support informal learning in the specific context of museum educational activities.
Communicating environmental sustainability initiatives virtually
Authors: Hopkins Erin 
Published: May 2019

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to uncover the extent to which firms in the apartment property management industry in the USA are promoting green property management services via communication on their websites.Design/methodology/approachA content analysis is the main research method for this study. Once all qualifying terms listed on the company website were recorded based on LEED credit and category, the data were synthesized to create a sustainability continuum organizing the firms based on the extent to which they communicate sustainability initiatives on their respective websites.FindingsThe results demonstrate that the majority of the largest 50 apartment management firms in the USA are not communicating any sustainability initiatives on their website. In all, 52 percent of companies have no acknowledgment of sustainability initiatives on their website; 16 percent of companies provide some cursory reference to sustainability initiatives; 16 percent offer some detail on their website; 6 percent contain in-depth detail plus metrics. The remaining 10 percent of firms are providing comprehensive sustainability reporting on their websites.Practical implicationsProperty management companies have an immense opportunity to capitalize on showcasing their green building features via company websites. Not only does incorporating environmental sustainability practices support a climate mitigation strategy, marketing these practices can foster consumer satisfaction and a willingness to pay more. With the awareness that opportunity abounds both to mitigate negative environmental externalities and complement financial goals of apartment property management companies, this research sheds light for property management companies and related parties of missed opportunities in the environmental sustainability space.Originality/valueThe analysis presented in this paper is one of the first to the author’s knowledge to explore the degree which property management companies are promoting green real estate management services through website communication.
Medical tourism: tourists’ perceived services and satisfaction lessons from Malaysian hospitals
Authors: Rahman Muhammad Khalilur 
Published: May 2019

Purpose
The medical tourism industry has become one of the most profitable industries around the world wherein most of the countries exploit every effort to attract medical tourists to take advantage of its medical care benefits. The purpose of this study is to explore the determinants of medical tourists’ perceived services and their satisfaction for medical care in hospitals.

Design/methodology/approach
The quantitative method was conducted to examine the three groups of foreign travellers such as medical tourists, expats and normative medial tourists’ perceived medical services quality and satisfaction. Data from a survey of 266 respondents were analyzed using the structural equation modelling technique.

Findings
The findings of this study provide evidence that hospital accessibility and interpersonal behaviour are the most critical constructs that influence medical tourists’ attributes. Additionally, medical costs and health-care technicality have a significant relationship with the perceived services of medical tourists. The study also demonstrated that medical tourists’ satisfaction highly attributed to their perceived services towards the quality of medical care they received and experienced in the hospitals.

Practical implications
The results have important implications for managerial considerations at hospitals. Hospital accessibility is a crucial dimension to be measured at hospitals when measuring service quality. Service providers need to be mindful that all aspects of medical services are essential and need to be delivered satisfactorily to ensure customer satisfaction. Patients’ perceived services and their satisfaction is a crucial bridge in determining the likelihood of future return among patients to the hospitals.

Originality/value
This study has managed to convincingly secure findings to provide useful information and understanding of the hospital accessibility and interpersonal manner of health-care professionals at hospitals in Malaysia. Particularly, when any hospital offers quality services, they must consider the reasonable medical expenses that can be affordable by the average people and update their medical equipment that are necessary for technical and diagnostic purposes. By ensuring these, they can attract the medical tourists.
Parametric optimization-based design of PI controllers: application to a DC servomechanism
Authors: Tabatabaei Mohammad 
Published: May 2019

Purpose
This paper aims to propose an analytical method for designing parametric optimization-based proportional integral (PI) controllers.

Design/methodology/approach
In this method, a performance index containing the weighted summation of the integral square of the error and its derivative is minimized. This performance index is analytically calculated in terms of the controller parameters by solving a Lyapunov equation. Then partial derivatives of the performance index with respect to controller parameters are calculated. Equating these partial derivatives to zero gives explicit relations for the PI controller parameters.

Findings
The experimental tests on a DC servomotor system are given to demonstrate the efficiency of the proposed method.

Originality/value
This paper proposes an analytical parametric optimization approach for designing PI controllers for the first time. The application of the proposed method in a laboratory experiment is examined.
Experimental investigation and optimization of a low-temperature thermoelectric module with different operating conditions
Authors: Patil Dipak Sudam , Arakerimath Rachayya R. , Walke Pramod V. 
Published: May 2019

Purpose
This paper aims to present an experimental investigation and optimization of a low-temperature thermoelectric module to examine the influence of the main operating conditions.

Design/methodology/approach
In this work, a comparison was made by varying the various operating parameters such as heat source temperature, the flow rate of the cold fluid and the external load resistance. A Taguchi method was applied to optimize the parameters of the system. Three factors, including the external load resistance, mass flow rate of water (at the heat sink side) and heater temperature (at the heat source side) along with different levels were taken into account. Analysis of variance was used to determine the significance and percentage contribution of each parameter.

Findings
The experimental results show that the maximum power output 8.22W and the maximum conversion efficiency 1.11 per cent were obtained at the heater temperature of 240°C, the cold fluid mass flow rate of 0.017 kg/s, module temperature difference of 45°C and the load resistance of 5 O. It was observed that the optimum parameter levels for maximum power output determined as 5 O external load resistance, 0.17 kg/s mass flow rate of water and 240°C heater temperature (A1B3C3). It reflects that these parameters influence on the optimum conditions. The heater temperature is the most significant parameter on the power output of the thermoelectric module.

Originality/value
It is clear from the confirmation test that experimental values and the predicted values are in good agreement.
Effect of average beam power on microstructure and mechanical properties of Nd: YAG laser welding of 304L and st37 steel
Authors: Kumar Pramod , Sinha Amar Nath 
Published: May 2019

PurposeThe present research work aims to study the effect of average beam power (laser process parameters) on the overlapping factor, depth of penetration (DOP), weld bead width, fusion zone and heat affected zone (HAZ) in laser welding of 304L and st37 steel. Back side and top surface morphology of the welded joints have also been studied for varying average beam power.Design/methodology/approachLaser welding of austenitic stainless steel (304L) and carbon steel (st37) was carried out using Nd:YAG laser integrated with ABB IRB 1410 robot in pulse mode. The selection of laser process parameters was based on the specification of available laser welding machine. Dissimilar laser welding of 304L and st37 carbon steel for full depth of penetration have been performed, with varying average beam power (225-510W) and constant welding speed (5mm/s) and pulse width (5ms).FindingsRecrystallized coarse grains were observed adjacent to the fusion zone and nucleated grains were seen away from the fusion zone towards carbon steel. Overlapping factor and HAZ width st37 side increases with increase in average beam power whereas top weld bead width increases first, attains maximum value and then subsequently decreases. Bottom weld bead width increases with increase in average beam power. The mechanical properties namely microhardness and tensile strength of the welded joints have been investigated with varying average beam power.Originality/valueIn the recent development of the automobile, power generation and petrochemical industries the application of dissimilar laser welding of austenitic stainless steel (304L) and carbon steel (st37) are gaining importance. Very limited work have been reported in pulsed Nd:YAG dissimilar laser welding of austenitic stainless steel (304L) and carbon steel (st37) for investigating the effect of laser process parameters on weld bead geometry, microstructural characterization and mechanical properties of the welded joint.