bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Consumer engagement with retail firms through social media: an empirical study in Chile
Authors: Bianchi Constanza , Andrews Lynda 
Published: April 2018

PurposeGiven the widespread popularity of social media such as Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, understanding consumer-brand engagement behavior within social media is fundamental for retail firms. Yet, little is known about how consumers engage with retail brands through social media. The purpose of this paper is to address this gap and extend previous research by examining factors that influence consumers’ attitudes and intentions to engage with retail brands through Facebook, and ultimately purchase products and services.Design/methodology/approachThis study draws on the theory of reasoned action and the technology acceptance model to develop a model of consumer-brand social media engagement and purchase intentions. Specifically, the model tests the influence of five antecedents of attitude on consumer intentions to engage with retail brands through the brands’ Facebook pages as well as intentions to make purchases through this social media. The hypotheses of the model are tested using structural equation modeling.FindingsThe findings provide an understanding of the main drivers of consumer-brand engagement that can lead to purchase intentions. Results show that consumers’ attitudes toward engaging with retail brands through Facebook are influenced by peer communication, compatibility and credibility, and that attitude has a strong influence on intentions toward this behavior. Furthermore, there is a strong relationship between intentions to engage and the likelihood of purchasing through a retail brand’s Facebook page.Research limitations/implicationsThis study is cross-sectional and was conducted at a particular point in time. Thus, results are not purported to make any inferences to causal relationships. Further, the measures of intentions to engage are attitudinal and not objective measures. Future longitudinal studies may help avoid this limitation by testing causal relationships.Practical implicationsThe study contributes to the important area of consumer engagement with retail brands through social media in ways that may lead to making purchases. Findings can provide retailers with reference points through which to engage their brands with consumers through their Facebook pages in ways that may lead to more direct returns on their investment in social media sites.Originality/valueRetailers are noticing the power of social media sites as a platform for engaging with consumers and extending this relationship to purchases. However, scant research has addressed this topic. The proposed model and findings of this study can extend prior research.
Phase 1 studies to assess the safety, tolerability and pharmacokinetics of JTE‐052 (a novel Janus kinase inhibitor) ointment in Japanese healthy volunteers and patients with atopic dermatitis
Authors: Nakagawa Hidemi , Nemoto Osamu , Yamada Hiroyuki , Nagata Takeshi , Ninomiya Noriko 
Published: April 2018

AbstractThe purpose of the present two phase 1 studies was to assess the safety, tolerability and pharmacokinetics for topical application of a novel Janus kinase (JAK) inhibitor, JTE‐052, in Japanese healthy adult male volunteers and Japanese adult patients with atopic dermatitis (AD). Additionally, exploratory investigation was performed on the efficacy for disease severity and pruritus score in AD patients. In the QBX1‐1 study, the cutaneous safety of JTE‐052 ointment by a patch test and a photo patch test was assessed in an intra‐individual comparative study using placebo ointment, white petrolatum and non‐application as comparators. The study demonstrated that JTE‐052 ointment would be associated with a low potential for phototoxicity but had no potential for skin irritation or photoallergy. In the QBX1‐2 study, it was revealed that the systemic exposure to JTE‐052 in both healthy volunteers with normal skin and AD patients with inflamed skin was low in application of not only 1% but also 3% JTE‐052 ointment. JTE‐052 ointments of 1% and 3% were generally safe and well tolerated in both populations. In a repeated twice‐daily application for 7 days, the efficacy of JTE‐052 ointment to AD patients was observed with both 1% and 3% ointments in the exploratory investigations evaluated by Eczema Area and Severity Index, Investigator's Global Assessment and Numeric Rating Scale assessments. The mean scores for each assessment declined from the baseline throughout the study. These results suggest that the treatment of JTE‐052 ointment is generally safe and effective in AD patients, although further large confirmatory studies are needed.
Linking oceanographic conditions, migratory schedules and foraging behaviour during the non‐breeding season to reproductive performance in a long‐lived seabird
Authors: Desprez Marine , Jenouvrier Stéphanie , Barbraud Christophe , Delord Karine , Weimerskirch Henri 
Published: April 2018

Abstract

Studies of the mechanisms underlying climate‐induced population changes are critically needed to better understand and accurately predict population responses to climate change. Long‐lived migratory species might be particularly vulnerable to climate change as they are constrained by different climate conditions and energetic requirements during the breeding and non‐breeding seasons. Yet, most studies primarily focus on the breeding season of these species life cycle. Environmental conditions experienced in the non‐breeding season may have downstream effects on the other stages of the annual life cycle. Not investigating such effects may potentially lead to erroneous inferences about population dynamics.

Combining demographic and tracking data collected between 2006 and 2013 at Kerguelen Island on a long‐lived migratory seabird, the Black‐Browed Albatross (Thalassarche melanophris), we investigated the links between sea surface temperature during the non‐breeding season and behavioural and phenological traits (at‐sea behaviour and migratory schedules) while accounting for different responses between birds of different sex and reproductive status (previously failed or successful breeders). We then explored whether variation in the foraging behaviour and timing of spring migration influenced subsequent reproductive performance.

Our results showed that foraging activity and migratory schedules varied by both sex and reproductive status suggesting different energetic requirements and constraints among individuals. Higher sea surface temperatures during late winter, assumed to reflect poor winter conditions, were associated with an earlier departure from the wintering grounds and an extended pre‐breeding period. However, an earlier spring migration and an earlier return to Kerguelen grounds were associated with a lower breeding success.

Our results highlighted that behaviour during some periods of the non‐breeding season, particularly towards the end of the wintering period and the pre‐breeding period, had a significant effect on the subsequent reproductive success. Therefore, caution needs to be given to all stages of the annual cycle when predicting the influence of climate on population dynamics.

A plain language summary is available for this article.
Beyond the Board Realm: Women in Senior Management and their Impact on IPO Capital Funding
Authors: McGuinness Paul B. 
Published: April 2018

AbstractThis study assesses the importance of female senior managers in Chinese IPO firms debuting in Hong Kong. I define senior management teams (SMTs) in relation to IPO prospectus disclosures. For the vast majority of firms, little to no overlap exists between SMT members and board personnel. Women are much better represented in SMTs than on boards. A central hypothesis is that Chinese firms' SMT members implement business strategy while board officers provide political connections. Unlike boards, female representation at SMT level strongly supports initial valuations. Findings suggest that women offer resource dependencies, add expertise and boost capital funding. In contrast to boards, underwriter quality is increasing in female representation at SMT level. Higher‐quality underwriters also gravitate towards SMTs with stronger academic bona fides. The present study also contributes by drawing connections and prescriptions with wider upper echelons, resource dependence and stakeholder theories. Overall, findings suggest that gender‐diverse SMTs play a major role in capital funding. More gender‐inclusive SMTs thus foster both social and business objectives.
Effect of cryopreservation and lyophilization on viability and growth of strict anaerobic human gut microbes
Authors: Bircher Lea , Geirnaert Annelies , Hammes Frederik , Lacroix Christophe , Schwab Clarissa 
Published: April 2018

SummaryStrict anaerobic gut microbes have been suggested as ‘next‐generation probiotics’ for treating several intestinal disorders. The development of preservation techniques is of major importance for therapeutic application. This study investigated cryopreservation (−80°C) and lyophilization survival and storage stability (4°C for 3 months) of the strict anaerobic gut microbes Bacteroides thetaiotaomicron, Faecalibacterium prausnitzii, Roseburia intestinalis, Anaerostipes caccae, Eubacterium hallii and Blautia obeum. To improve preservation survival, protectants sucrose and inulin (both 5% w/v) were added for lyophilization and were also combined with glycerol (15% v/v) for cryopreservation. Bacterial fitness, evaluated by maximum growth rate and lag phase, viability and membrane integrity were determined using a standardized growth assay and by flow cytometry as markers for preservation resistance. Lyophilization was more detrimental to viability and fitness than cryopreservation, but led to better storage stability. Adding sucrose and inulin enhanced viability and the proportion of intact cells during lyophilization of all strains. Viability of protectant‐free B. thetaiotaomicron, A. caccae and F. prausnitzii was above 50% after cryopreservation and storage and increased to above 80% if protectants were present. The addition of glycerol, sucrose and inulin strongly enhanced the viability of B. obeum, E. hallii and R. intestinalis from 0.03–2% in protectant‐free cultures to 11–37%. This is the first study that quantitatively compared the effect of cryopreservation and lyophilization and the addition of selected protectants on viability and fitness of six strict anaerobic gut microbes. Our results suggest that efficiency of protectants is process‐ and species‐specific.
Plasma bile acid changes in type 2 diabetes correlated with insulin secretion in two‐step hyperglycemic clamp
Authors: Wang Shujie , Deng Yuying , Xie Xiaoyan , Ma Jing , Xu Min , Zhao Xinjie , Gu Weiqiong , Hong Jie , Wang Weiqing , Xu Guowang , Ning Guang , Gu Yanyun , Zhang Yifei 
Published: April 2018

AbstractBackgroundBile acids (BAs) conduct crucial signals in human metabolism. Correlations between changes in plasma BA concentrations, insulin secretion defects, and progression of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) in humans have not been sufficiently investigated. This study explored the trajectories of changes in human plasma BA concentrations and their association with insulin secretion dynamics during a two‐step hyperglycemic clamp.MethodsEleven healthy subjects with normal glucose tolerance (NGT) and 33 drug‐naïve T2DM subjects were enrolled in the study. The two‐step hyperglycemic clamp consisted of a classic clamp as Step 1 with fasting, followed by a Step 2 clamp after ingestion of a carbohydrate meal, illustrating basal and incretin‐amplified insulin responses to glucose. Plasma BA were assayed using liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry. Nine T2DM subjects were followed‐up, and the two‐step clamp was repeated after 3 months sulfonylurea treatment.ResultsUrsodeoxycholic acid (UDCA) was lower and lithocholic acid (LCA) and taurocholic acid (TCA) were higher in T2DM compared with NGT subjects. The dynamics of plasma UDCA concentrations and the UDCA/LCA ratio was positively correlated with insulin secretion in T2DM subjects and were corrected after treatment. Moreover, fasting ratios of UDCA/LCA and unconjugated/conjugated BAs were correlated with the first phase of insulin secretion in T2DM subjects.ConclusionThe abnormal BA composition in T2DM subjects and its correlation with insulin secretion during the clamp suggest an interaction between BA signals and insulin secretion capacity, and the potential to use fasting plasma BA composition indices to predict and evaluate the progression and prognosis of T2DM.
Measuring the Diffusion of the Millennium Development Goals across Major Print Media and Academic Outlets
Authors: McArthur John W. , Zhang Christine 
Published: April 2018

AbstractTo what extent did the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) succeed in becoming a reference point for public debates, academic inquiry, and policy‐focused research? We explore this by considering three empirical questions. First, were there discernible trends in the extent of media references to the MDGs – by year, publication, and geography over the relevant period? Second, were there discernible trends in MDG references across a sample of relevant academic journals and disciplines? Third, how does the pattern of MDG media references compare to the emerging early pattern of Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) media references? In our sample, we find that newspapers in the UK, India and Nigeria had much more frequent MDG references than those published in Australia, Canada or the United States. We also find that The Lancet had a notably high frequency of MDG‐referencing articles, potentially helping to explain the distinctive patterns of acceleration on health MDGs. We further find that UN summits were a key driver of MDG coverage, with 2005 as the year of peak MDG attention. News coverage for the SDGs in 2016 was similar to latter year coverage of the MDGs, although considerably higher than related coverage in 2001 and 2002.
Can opportunistically collected Citizen Science data fill a data gap for habitat suitability models of less common species?
Authors: Bradter Ute , Mair Louise , Jönsson Mari , Knape Jonas , Singer Alexander , Snäll Tord 
Published: April 2018

AbstractOpportunistically collected species observations contributed by volunteer reporters are increasingly available for species and regions for which systematically collected data are not available. However, it is unclear if they are suitable to produce reliable habitat suitability models (HSMs), and hence if the species–habitat relationships found and habitat suitability maps produced can be used with confidence to advice conservation management and address basic and applied research questions.We evaluated HSMs with opportunistically collected observations against HSMs with systematically collected observations. We enhanced the opportunistically collected presence‐only data by adding inferred species absences. To obtain inferred absences, we asked individual reporters about their identification skills and if they reported certain species consistently and combined this information with their observations. We evaluated several HSM methods using a forest bird species, Siberian jay (Perisoreus infaustus), in Sweden: logistic regression with inferred absences, two versions of MaxEnt, a model combining presence–absence with presence‐only observations and a Bayesian site‐occupancy‐detection model.All HSM methods produced nationwide habitat suitability maps of Siberian jay that agreed well with systematically collected observations (AUC: 086–0.88) and were very similar to a habitat suitability map produced from the HSM with systematically collected observations (Spearman rho: 0.94–0.98). At finer geographical scales there were differences among methods.At finer scale, the resulting habitat suitability maps from logistic regression with inferred absences agreed better with results from systematically collected observations than other methods. The species–habitat relationships found with logistic regression also agreed well with those found from systematically collected data and with prior expectations based on the species ecology.Synthesis and application. For many regions and species, systematically collected data are not available. By using inferred absences from high‐quality, opportunistically collected contributions of few very active reporters in logistic regression we obtained HSMs that produced results similar to those from a systematic survey. Adding high‐quality inferred absences to opportunistically collected data is likely possible for many less common species across various organism groups. Well‐performing HSMs are important to facilitate applications such as spatial conservation planning and prioritization, monitoring of invasive species, understanding species habitat requirements or climate change studies.
Important issues facing insect conservation in Australia: now and into the future
Authors: Sands Don P A 
Published: April 2018

AbstractStudies of insect biodiversity and conservation in Australia have been severely limited by the many undescribed species and paucity of taxonomists and insect ecologists. In this review, I discuss important issues facing insect conservation, namely, key threatening processes, threats to habitats and ecological communities, the importance of maintaining insect interactions, the value of vegetation remnants in agricultural ecosystems and the importance of community participation, and provide recommendations for the conservation management of invertebrates and their habitats. Major threats to insect biodiversity continue from habitat loss through broadscale clearing of native vegetation, invasion by weeds, habitat fragmentation, loss of natural corridors and inappropriate fire regimes. Other threats include disturbance of plant communities on hilltops, creek embankments and in water courses, pesticide regimes, trampling and grazing by stock and feral animals, and exotic predators. Climate change affects those insects constrained by their thermal and moisture tolerances (climate envelopes), potentially influencing their distribution, development and reproduction, by disrupting diapause and aestivation or inducing torpor. Protected areas under State jurisdiction are at risk without Commonwealth protection and increasingly threatening those insects occurring only in national parks and other conservation areas. For effective conservation of mainland national parks, overarching national EPBC Act legislation is needed to protect parks for conservation of animal and plant diversity and natural landscapes. Retention of native vegetation as refuges for beneficial insects near farmlands is known to contribute to environmentally clean pest control. Information on conservation of beneficial insects and their dependence on native plants as habitats is needed by farmers to promote identification and protection of natural refuges for pollinators, parasitoids and predators and to support the case against indiscriminate tree clearing. Important community conservation activities are underway in several States and Territories, but to be effective, increased support and funding from appropriate agencies is required.
MiR‐27a‐3p and miR‐124‐3p, upregulated in endometrium and serum from women affected by Chronic Endometritis, are new potential molecular markers of endometrial receptivity
Authors: Di Pietro Cinzia , Caruso Salvatore , Battaglia Rosalia , Iraci Sareri Marco , La Ferlita Alessandro , Strino Fabrizio , Bonaventura Gabriele , Di Mauro Maurizio , Barcellona Maria Luisa , Perciavalle Vincenzo , Purrello Michele , Cianci Antonio 
Published: April 2018

ProblemChronic endometritis (CE) is usually asymptomatic and different studies demonstrated the relation with infertility and recurrent pregnancy loss. Altered regulation of protein‐encoding genes in CE has been demonstrated, but no evidence about the involvement of microRNAs in the pathology is present in literature.Method of studyIn the endometrium from 15 women with CE and 15 healthy women, by RT‐qPCR single assays, we investigated some microRNAs targeting IL11, CCL4, IGF1, and IGFBP1, which mRNAs had been found differentially expressed in endometrium of women affected by CE. The expression of IGF1 and IL11, targets of the deregulated microRNAs, has been analyzed in the same endometrium samples. We assessed the expression profiles of the deregulated microRNAs in the serum of the same patients validating their ability as biomarkers by statistical analysis.ResultsWe demonstrated the upregulation of miR‐27a‐3p and miR‐124‐3p in the endometrium and serum from women with CE and found an anticorrelation relationship between miR‐27a‐3p and IGF1 in endometrium. ROC curve analysis suggested that miRNA investigation in endometrium and serum could discriminate women with CE.ConclusionMiR‐27a‐3p and miR‐124‐3p could represent non‐invasive markers of CE and, in a near future, could be used to assess the endometrial quality in IVF.
Surfactant protein D alleviates eosinophil‐mediated airway inflammation and remodeling in patients with aspirin‐exacerbated respiratory disease
Authors: Choi Y. , Lee D.‐H. , Trinh H. K. T. , Ban G.‐Y. , Park H.‐K. , Shin Y. S. , Kim S.‐H. , Park H.‐S. 
Published: April 2018

AbstractBackgroundSurfactant protein D (SPD) is a member of the collectin family that lines the airway epithelial cells with host defense. However, the role of SPD in the pathogenesis of aspirin‐exacerbated respiratory disease (AERD) is still unclear.MethodsThe serum SPD level was measured in patients with AERD (n = 336), those with aspirin‐tolerant asthma (ATA, n = 442), and healthy controls (HC, n = 104). Polymorphisms of SFTPD in the study subjects were analyzed. The effect of LTE4 on SPD production through eosinophil infiltration was investigated in BALB/c mice. The protective function of SPD against eosinophils inducing inflammation and remodeling was assessed in vitro/vivo. The potential efficacy of nintedanib against airway remodeling through the production of SPD was evaluated.ResultsThe serum SPD level was significantly lower (P < .001) in AERD compared with ATA patients, and negatively correlated with fall in FEV1 (%) after lysine‐aspirin bronchoprovocation test and/or the urinary LTE4 level. In addition, polymorphism of SFTPD at rs721917 was significantly different in the study subjects (odds ratio, 2.124; 95% confidence intervals, 1.310‐3.446; P = .002). LTE4‐exposed mice showed an increased eosinophil count with a decreased SPD level in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid. Eosinophils increased α‐smooth muscle actin expression in airway epithelial cells, which was attenuated by SPD treatment. Furthermore, nintedanib protected the airway epithelial cells against eosinophils by enhancing the production of SPD.ConclusionThe decreased level of SPD in AERD was associated with airway inflammation/remodeling under the eosinophilic condition, suggesting that modulation of SPD may provide a potential benefit in AERD.
Unlock the Volume: Towards a Politics of Capacity
Authors: Peters Kimberley , Turner Jennifer 
Published: April 2018

AbstractIn recent years “volume” has become a key analytic idea, and tool, for re‐imagining and making sense of historical and contemporary socio‐cultural and geopolitical phenomena. This paper argues that this important work could be pushed in new directions by thinking seriously of how volume might otherwise be interpreted spatially, ascapacity. Accordingly, in this paper, we address what we call a “politics of capacity”. To do so, we draw specifically on debates in carceral geography and, in particular, the pressures on the prison system to illustrate our argument. Drawing on notions of “operational capacities” and “capacity building” in the prison setting, we outline a manifesto for volumetric thinking that moves beyond expressions of power that cut through height, depth and angles, to an understanding of how power is conveyed through maximum and minimum capacities; density and mass; and capacity‐building techniques.